A homeless man has been indicted on a federal terrorism charge after allegedly threatening a deadly gas attack on Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, on Christmas Eve, 2024.
The grand jury in Harris County indicted 33-year-old Aaron Suppes earlier this month for one terroristic threat count related to his actions against the megachurch.
According to the indictment, Suppes “threaten[ed] to commit an offense involving violence” against the church's head of security, intending to place a substantial group of the public in fear of serious bodily injury.
Following these allegations, a district court set Suppes' bail at $15,000, along with instructions prohibiting him from going near any church property, including Lakewood.
During a candlelight service at Lakewood, attended by approximately 5,000 people on December 24, Suppes called an FBI tipline and stated he would release sarin gas—an extremely toxic chemical weapon—during the gathering.
Worshippers continued without interruption as security confirmed there was no actual threat, finding the duffel bags that Suppes had left on church property to be harmless.
Authorities were able to track down Suppes through security camera footage, arresting him without incident while he was still near the church. Lt. Willkens of the Houston Police Department later commented that Suppes had made another call on Christmas Eve, expressing strange claims that suggested a mental health issue.
Records indicate that Suppes had been unemployed and homeless for at least six months before the incident. Upon initially appearing in court, he falsely identified himself as a pastor from Florida.
Suppes was initially held at the San Jacinto Jail in Harris County before being transferred to the LaSalle Correctional Center in Louisiana.
