'Warrior for Christ' and anti-LGBTQ+ protester charged with causing a bomb scare at a Pride event
A 19-year-old street preacher who organized Warriors for Christ training sessions teaching young people how to speak out against homosexuality is facing a felony charge, court records show.
Marcus Schroeder, member of antiabortion and anti-homosexuality Christian extremist group Operation Save America, is charged with causing a bomb scare at a Watertown Pride in the Park event in July.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by WKOW 27 News, Schroeder called 911 at 11:57 a.m. on July 29 to report that an unknown person told him a bomb was set to go off at the park at 12:05 p.m.
He called 911 again at 12:03 p.m. to ask if anything would be done to prevent the bomb, saying he was concerned for his fellow group members.
The complaint doesn't give an exact reason why the bomb threat was not found to be credible.
Schroeder didn't leave the event after he made the calls, the criminal complaint said.
Schroeder was arrested later that day while protesting the event for playing amplified music without a permit after he blasted music and preached through loudspeakers. He was released without charges.
His arrest garnered national attention after it gained traction on social media, leading to interviews with Fox News and the president of conservative lobbying organization the Family Research Council.
His preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 19 in Dodge County Circuit Court. If convicted, Schroeder faces three to six years in prison and a fine up to $10,000, the penalty for a Class I felony in Wisconsin.
Schroeder is free on a $5,000 signature bond and cannot post about the case on social media, court records say. He must also "not have any violent or abusive contact with anyone."
Schroeder's Mercy Seat pastor faced jail time during the rise of anti-abortion protests
Schroeder, also a member of the Mercy Seat Christian Church in Brookfield, can be seen with other church and Operation Save America members protesting Pride events in Milwaukee and Waukesha.
Also present at many local protests is Mercy Seat's pastor, Matt Trewhella, co-founder of antiabortion group Missionaries to the Preborn. Trewhella, an antiabortion extremist for over 30 years, spent 14 months in jail for blockading Milwaukee abortion clinics and 33 days behind bars for blocking the driveway of an abortion doctor.
Planned Parenthood recorded Trewhella at a Wisconsin Taxpayers Party conference urging parents to train their children how to use guns and encouraging congregations to form militias, the New York Times reported in 1994.
While antiabortion protests were on the rise at that time, recent research shows LGBTQ+ people are the focus for extremists.
A report from the Anti-Defamation League and LGBTQ+ organization GLAAD tracked more than 350 incidents of harassment, vandalism or assault motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ extremism from June 2022 to April 2023.
Schroeder and around 60 fellow group members protested a picnic hosted by LGBTQ+ advocacy organization PFLAG Waukesha in August, surrounding the event on all sides and preaching through loudspeakers, picnic-goers said.
"We are now formulating safety plans involving security officers to protect ourselves, and notifying police every time we have an event as a precaution," PFLAG Waukesha President Julie Reuss told the Journal Sentinel earlier this month.
They were also in Waukesha supporting the school board's decision to fire former teacher Melissa Tempel. Tempel was fired for publicly disagreeing with the district's decision to ban the song "Rainbowland" from an elementary school concert.
More: Many in Waukesha County fear for the future of LGBTQ+ acceptance, town hall reveals
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Warriors for Christ' member charged with causing a bomb scare
