An Arizona man has been arrested on terrorism charges after threatening to carry out a mass shooting at a well-known LGBTQ bar in Phoenix and stating it was a “far-right response” to the death of Charlie Kirk.

Police say Treven Michael Gokey, 49, was detained on Wednesday, September 17, after officers responded to a welfare check. According to court documents cited by local outlets, including AZ Family and FOX 10, Gokey told a crisis hotline he intended to open fire at Cruisin’ 7th, a popular gay bar near his home.

When questioned by police, Gokey allegedly said he had been “triggered by political events” and declared that he was “a martyr for Charlie Kirk”. He further claimed that Kirk himself, a prominent right-wing agitator, was a martyr. Gokey reportedly stated that “radical left violence breeds a far-right response” and insisted he wanted to “send a message” specifically to left-leaning communities.

Court filings also allege that Gokey made a series of transphobic and homophobic remarks to officers, some of which appeared to reference harming members of the transgender community.

His arrest follows a string of threats in the United States in the aftermath of Kirk’s killing, including bomb threats and evacuations at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., and at several historically Black colleges and universities. While the motive behind those threats has not been confirmed, some conservative figures blamed “the left” for Kirk’s death even before a suspect had been identified.

Research paints a starkly different picture to the claims often levelled against trans people by the far-right. A US Secret Service review of 172 mass attacks between 2016 and 2020 found that 96 per cent of perpetrators were cisgender men. Meanwhile, analysis reported by The Advocate shows that out of more than 4,600 mass shootings between 2014 and 2024, only six involved transgender suspects, around 0.128%. As trans people make up about one per cent of the population, they are significantly less likely to be mass shooters than the general public.

Gokey remains in custody as he faces terrorism-related charges. His terrorism charge and attempted retaliation for the shooting of Charlie Kirk are likely to reignite debate over the dangers of incendiary rhetoric and the urgent need to safeguard LGBTQ+ venues from politically motivated violence.