Oak Harbor police arrest man for violent social media threats against Anacortes Pride

Oak Harbor police arrested a 27-year-old man on Friday who made violent threats online against Anacortes Pride.  

In early June, police said an arrest warrant was issued for Tyler Dinsmoor after detectives investigated a separate incident of harassment against his neighbor in Oak Harbor

His neighbor was returning home from grocery shopping with her wife when he allegedly yelled, unprovoked: "It used to be legal to kill gay people!" The neighbor said she saw also Dinsmoor at her house a few days later, carrying a handgun.  

According to court documents, Dinsmoor recently made harassing posts on social media and expressed his desire to kill members of the LGBTQ+ community. His posts came from multiple accounts on Gab.com, a platform similar to Twitter known for its far-right users.

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He allegedly made specific threats towards the Anacortes Pride Parade, scheduled for Saturday, June 18. One post included a picture of a flyer for the parade with the comment "talk me out of it." 

On Friday, police contacted him at home and he surrendered without incident. Dinsmoor was arrested for "civil rights malicious harassment with a hate crimes enhancement," and the felony warrant states that he presents an extreme risk of violence in the near future. 

Dinsmoor was taken to the Oak Harbor City Jail and was later taken to the Island County Jail, where he will remain in custody pending a pretrial arraignment. His bail was set at $1,000,000.