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Jury finds Wichita Falls man not guilty of threatening to kill Speaker Pelosi, officials

A federal jury has found a Wichita Falls man not guilty of threatening to kill the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and other government officials.

Jurors reached their decision last week in the case of 29-year-old Gavin Weslee Blake Perry, who had been charged with transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce.

A resident had alerted Wichita Falls police in 2020 that Perry had posted the threats on a Facebook account under the name of “Gavinwbperry,” according to a federal criminal complaint.

Perry and his attorney, Frank D. Trotter of Wichita Falls, could not be reached Thursday for comment on the verdict.

Prosecutors declined on Thursday to comment.

If he had been convicted, he faced a maximum of five years in a federal prison.

At the time of his arrest, Perry stated the officers were violating his First Amendment right to free speech, and when he bonded out of jail he would refuse to comply with any order to come to court. He told officers that he did not recognize the authority of the federal government.

According to federal court documents, Perry posted on Facebook in March 2020 that, “If you’re a dem or apart of the establishment in the democrats side I view you as a criminal and a terrorist and I advise everyone to Go SOS (shoot on sight) and use live rounds. This is not gonna change until we attack NSA the DOJ the FBI and Any other agencies who want to get involved. Shoot to kill. This is a revolution.”

Later he wrote on Facebook that Speaker Nancy Pelosi “is apart of a satanic cult and so are the people who work closely with her. Dems of the establishment will be removed at any cost necessary and yes that means by death.”

Perry has a criminal history in Wichita County, according to jail records. Since June 2009, Perry has been booked into jail on charges of assault, failure to appear in court at least seven times, public intoxication, speeding, disruption of school activities and possession of tobacco products.