Man Who Made Fake Bomb Threat at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church Indicted by Grand Jury on Federal Terrorism Charge

March 18, 2025

A man who threatened to carry out a Christmas Eve gas attack against Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church has been indicted on federal terrorism charges by a grand jury.

Church Leaders reports that 33 year-old Aaron Suppes was arrested on Dec. 24 after making a bomb threat at Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston where nearly 5,000 worshippers were gathered for a candlelight service.

A court filing from March 5 says the grand jury determined that Suppes had threatened “to commit an offense involving violence” against the church’s head of security with “the intent to place a substantial group of the public in fear of serious bodily injury.”

According to Chron, Suppes called the FBI tip line and claimed that he was planning to release sarin nerve gas during the Christmas Eve service.

Police and fire department personnel responded and, after coordinating with church security, determined that there was no immediate threat.

Suppes was arrested and appeared before a Harris County Court in early January where he was charged with making a terroristic threat.

A Harris County grand jury returned a felony indictment on March 5.

Suppes allegedly had made another call earlier that day in which he told 911 dispatchers that he and his sister were being “microwaved from overseas.”

According to KHOU, police suspected that Suppes had mental health issues and court documents show that he was homeless and unemployed for at least six months.

Osteen’s Lakewood Church has been at the center of a handful of non-violent protests in recent years and was the scene of a fatal shooting in Feb. 2024.

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