Police arrested a heavily armed transgender-identifying man who they said had a history of threatening mass violence after he parked a car loaded with firearms outside a Las Vegas-area casino.
Andrew Walsh of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department said Tuesday that law enforcement arrested 36-year-old “Allison” Howlett on Saturday on multiple charges, including “threats related to an act of terrorism.”
Howlett was arrested outside of the Sunset Station Casino in Henderson after police received a phone call from his spouse claiming that he had stolen a vehicle full of weapons and had previously threatened “to commit suicide by cop and carry out a mass shooting.”
Howlett faces charges including gun theft, theft of a car, resisting an officer with a gun, and making a threat of terrorism or false information about an act of terrorism. During a Tuesday briefing on the case, officers played a recording of a person purported to be Howlett making threats of mass violence.
“I swear to God, if the FBI doesn’t come f***ing arrest me, there’s gonna be a f***ing mass shooting,” a person reportedly identified as Howlett said in the recording. “There’s one day you’re gonna be pissing me the f*** off, and it’s gonna be the last f***ing straw.”
Howlett has denied any accusations that he wanted to hurt anyone or made previous threats of mass violence.
“Allison denied wanting to hurt anyone and denied making any prior threats to commit a mass shooting,” a police report obtained by the Las Vegas Review Journal said. “Allison stated that everyone is out to get her and are setting her up.”
Henderson Police Department Chief Reggie Rader said that Howlett was found in a vehicle outside the Sunset Station Casino on June 27 with music loudly blaring and refusing to leave the car.
“The quick-thinking officers developed a plan to take her into custody as an opportunity arose when she reached for the water. Officers used that moment to gain control over her hands and remove her from the vehicle,” Rader said, using female pronouns for Howlett, who is listed as a male in booking records.
Rader played footage showing several police officers surrounding the car and pulling Howlett out. Rader said that Howlett had been sitting on a handgun and had access to a fully automatic machine gun in the back seat of the vehicle.
Investigators recovered 22 firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, including multiple handguns and rifles, in the car. Later, they found an additional 30 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition at Howlett’s residence.
A judge has set bail for Howlett at $500,000. A preliminary hearing date is set for July 15.
.png)
.png)
