A Long Island man who spent years threatening the LGBTQ community with attacks he claimed would make the 2016 Pulse Nightclub massacre “look like a cakewalk” has been arrested. Robert Fehring turned himself in to the FBI on Monday after the Justice Department unsealed a complaint detailing the alarming letters he mailed to LGBTQ organizers, business owners, and city council members between 2013 and 2021. Fehring has been charged with making threats through the U.S. mail and faces up to five years in prison. He was released on a $100,000 bond but is being confined to his home and monitored electronically. The 74-year-old from Bayport all but admitted he sent the more than 60 letters referenced in the Justice Department complaint, many of which were found as drafts during a search of his home. That search also turned up a cache of ammo, loaded shotguns, stun guns, an American flag-emblazoned machete, and the remains of a dead bird packed into an envelope to be sent to an attorney who works on behalf of LGBTQ clients. On that envelope and the many others he sent, Fehring admitted to using a stamp with the word “confidential!” on it. According to the Justice Department complaint, Fehring claimed the stamp was meant to ensure that the letter reached its intended recipient and that it was taken seriously. Fehring also admitted that he didn’t like the LGBTQ community during an interview last month with FBI agents. FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll called Fehring’s threats “appalling” and “dangerous” in a press release. And, for those he threatened, Fehring destroyed their sense of safety. Speaking with Newsday, LGBT Network head David Kilmnick said he received dozens of letters dating as far back as 2014. One included a doctored cover of Newsday filled with hateful language and photos that may have been taken by Fehring of a Long Island Pride event. Kilmnick had panic buttons installed in his home and LGBT Network community centers. “I had to think twice about putting out the garbage or getting the mail,” Kilmnick said. Read more