SAN ANTONIO – A federal magistrate judge has denied bail to a conspiracy theorist charged with a weapons violation after telling a Texas church that the killing of more than two dozen of its worshippers was a hoax.
The judge ruled Tuesday that Robert Mikell Ussery must remain in custody on a charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He already faced a charge of making a terroristic threat over the hoax comment.
Ussery, who's 54, was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to four years in prison for burglary of a vehicle in Brazoria County, Texas.
The weapons charge centers on his armed presence March 5 at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio. Worshippers have said he and his girlfriend claimed the U.S. government fabricated the November 2017 mass shooting.
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