Vt. Man Arrested For Threatening Daughter’s School Over Trans People

A Vermont father was arrested and charged with harassment in New Hampshire on Tuesday after allegedly threatening his daughter's school. The man said if his daughter were exposed to transgender students or drag queens he would commit a mass shooting, according to authorities.

A judge has now granted an extreme risk protection order, barring the man from purchasing or possessing dangerous weapons for at least six months.

Shane Gobeil, 36, of Canaan, Vt., was shopping in a grocery store in neighboring New Hampshire on Monday when he threatened The Canaan Schools -- a campus that shares both an elementary and high school -- to two students in the store, according to a police affidavit obtained by The New Hampshire Union Leader.

The affidavit states that during a conversation about dress codes with the teens, which video cameras recorded, Gobeil says, "The school's changing. Before you know it, there's going to be a drag queen show. And you know what? I'm probably going to show up and kill somebody. A lot of bodies. You understand?"

An employee at Solomon's Store was alarmed and reported the comment to management, ultimately leading to school principal Ryan Charles Patterson reporting the threat to Vermont State Police.

Gobeil repeated his threat to Vermont State Police, reports VTDigger.

"If they're going to ever have a transgender and drag queens ... and bring it right here in my daughter's face, I am going to have a big problem with that. If anybody comes near my daughter with a f***king dick and f***king pantyhose, I'll kill 'em," he told officers.

Troopers told him several times that his statements were concerning, to which he responded that he "did not care, and he would say whatever he wants as it was his own right to do so," the arrest affidavit states.

In Vermont, after Essex County State's Attorney Vince Illuzzi secured an Extreme Risk Protection Order, police searched Gobeil's home for dangerous weapons but did not find any.

According to court records, Gobeil told officers that he "intended to exercise his right to own firearms" and that he intended to acquire an assault rifle.

In 2015, Gobeil was found guilty of felony second-degree assault, court documents state.

As a result of the threat, Canaan Schools closed the high school and elementary school on Tuesday and Wednesday, ending the school year early.

The school served Gobeil two trespass notices previously, according to VTDigger. In December 2021, Gobeil showed up at the school and allegedly screamed at a staff member for wearing a medical face mask. After that, the school served him with another trespass notice when Gobeil allegedly confronted a mother with two children for wearing masks twice.

He was served again by the Essex County Sheriff's Department on June 7. This time Gobeil was upset about students, parents, and staff wearing masks.

Gobeil will appear in court on August 11 at 1st Circuit District Court in Colebrook, New Hampshire.

If convicted of misdemeanor harassment, he faces a possible jail sentence of under one year and a maximum fine of $2,000.