According to police, a man called the National Suicide Hotline late last month and made several statements about bombing the L.A. non-profit TransLatin@ Coalition's headquarters.
As KNX News' Margaret Carrero reports, LAPD Assistant Chief Blake Chow said the man, identified as 60-year-old Henry Nolkemper, also referenced setting the non-profit's building on fire using an accelerant and attacking the gay pride parade in June.
Once investigators were able to identify the caller as Nolkemper, police began surveilling his home. According to the LAPD, detectives eventually contacted him by phone and convinced him to surrender.
He was booked on suspicion of making a false bomb threat and being held on a possible probation violation, prompting a no-bail status, according to police.
Assistant Chief Chow said Nolkemper was arrested last week, and the L.A. County District Attorney's office has filed one count of criminal threats with a hate crime enhancement against him.
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Bamby Salcedo, president of the TransLatin@ Coalition, says this is not the first threat they've received.
Salcedo says, along with countless other threats, several staff members have been sent hate mail, and something must be done.
"We need to do better to ensure that trans people are integrated into the tapestry of our society," said Salcedo. "We need to do better to making sure that there are resources to support the livelihood of our community.
We need to do better in accepting the reality that trans people exist."
Robin Toma, executive director of L.A. County's Human Relations Commission, said, "We know that the trans community in particular experiences the highest level of hate crimes they've ever experienced in the history of us taking their point, and that's over four decades, and the level of violence of those hate crimes is always among the highest."
Toma said approximately nine out of every ten hate crimes against a transgender person are violent.
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