Travis County District Attorney’s Office Secures Hate Crime Conviction
Man Charged with Terroristic Threat Causing Fear of Imminent Serious Bodily Injury with a Hate Crime Finding Pleads Guilty
Travis County, TX — Today, Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced that on August 28, 2025, a Travis County judge sentenced Michael Boone, 57, for Terroristic Threat to Cause Imminent Serious Bodily Injury, a Class B misdemeanor, with a hate crime finding, which increased his charge to a Class A misdemeanor. The judge sentenced Mr. Boone to two years of deferred adjudication, ordered him to complete 75 hours of community service, undergo recommended treatment and counseling, write a letter of apology, and have no contact with the Austin Independent School District, the government agency he threatened.
Mr. Boone entered a guilty plea to Terroristic Threat to Cause Imminent Serious Bodily Injury and admitted to the hate crime allegation on July 17, 2025. However, he was sentenced one month later due to his out-of-state residency status.
On August 11, 2023, the Austin Independent School District’s Police Department investigated a terroristic threat sent to the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees via their “Let’s Talk” App prior to the Board of Trustees’ participation in the Austin Pride Parade on August 12, 2023.
The message sent included the following threat:
“You sick pathetic humans for allowing and promoting this nonsense. I’ll have my sniper rifle ready and pointed straight at you until one by one you’re an oblivion in America’s history, but burning hotly in hell.”
After the message was discovered, the Austin ISD Police Department used the IP address from which the message was sent to identify and find the address of the person associated with that IP address. The creator of the IP address was identified as the defendant Michael Boone from Richmond Hills, Georgia.
On August 12, 2023, the Austin ISD Police Department requested assistance from the FBI in locating Mr. Boone. Just hours before the Austin Pride Parade, the FBI and Richmond Hills Police located Mr. Boone in Georgia and questioned him about a specific message he had posted. During their interview, Mr. Boone admitted to posting the message.
On December 19, 2023, a Travis County grand jury indicted Mr. Boone on one count of Terroristic Threat with the Intent to Cause Fear of Serious Bodily Injury in order to Influence the Conduct of a Government Agency, a third-degree felony. The indictment alleged that he threatened to commit acts of violence, specifically murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, against various persons, aiming to influence the actions of the Austin Independent School District. And the grand jury found that the defendant intentionally chose those individuals because of bias or prejudice against a group identified by sexual preference.
Additionally, the grand jury charged Mr. Boone with a second count of the offense of Terroristic Threat with the Intent to Cause Impairment in order to Place the Public or a Substantial Group of the Public in Fear of Serious Bodily Injury, a third-degree felony. The indictment claimed that he threatened to commit a violent crime, specifically murder or aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, against any person or property, intending to cause the public and a significant portion of the public to fear serious bodily injury. Once again, the grand jury found that the defendant intentionally targeted those individuals because of bias or prejudice against a group identified by sexual preference.
“The Travis County District Attorney’s office does not tolerate acts of hate in our community, takes hate crimes seriously, and is committed to holding people who commit these crimes accountable,” said Travis County District Attorney José Garza. “Our office is grateful for the AISD Police Department and our other law enforcement partners who were involved in quickly identifying the suspect and who assisted in the investigation that ultimately kept our community safe.”
Since 2021, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners have successfully partnered to investigate and prosecute hate crimes in our community through our joint participation in our community’s Hate Crimes Task Force.
In 2021, the Travis County District Attorney’s office secured hate crime convictions against three defendants for a hate crime committed against a gay couple in Austin in 2019.
Since 2023, our office has had two active cases, including Michael Boone’s (case D1DC23100094), where a grand jury has returned an indictment that has alleged a hate crime finding.
The other case includes the Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon case with a hate crime finding against George Johnson (case D1DC23904027).
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