A Lauderdale County man faces federal charges for allegedly making threats on social media. 

Christian Blake Bunyard, 18, has been charged in a federal criminal indictment with two counts of making threats in interstate commerce and one count of making an interstate transmission of an extortionate communication, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Michelle A. Sutphin with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.

The indictment charges that in May and July 2020, Bunyard utilized the social media platform Snapchat to threaten a school shooting. He is also accused of threatening violence against African Americans in Oxford. 

Bunyard also threatened to harm another Snapchat user if she did not provide nude photos, the indictment says. 

Bunyard appeared for arraignment on Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda R. Anderson. The case has been set for trial on Dec. 17, before U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate in Jackson.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department.