Man Admits Threatening Sag Harbor LGBTQ Advocates

A Bayport man has admitted to sending death threats to LGBTQ+ affiliated individuals, organizations and businesses, including the Sag Harbor office of the Long Island LGBT Network, for nearly a decade.

Robert Fehring, who was arrested on December 6, pleaded guilty February 23 in Central Islip federal court to mailing more than 20 letters threatening to assault, shoot and bomb advocates and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“We will not tolerate hateful threats intended to invoke fear and division, and we will hold accountable those who make or act on such threats,” said Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

In addition to the Sag Harbor advocates, Fehring also sent graphically detailed threats to the New York City Pride March, a barbershop in Brooklyn and elected officials, prosecutors said.

When investigators executed a search warrant at his home they found copies of the threatening letters, 20 gay pride flags stolen from Sayville, and reconnaissance-style photographs from a June 2021 Pride event in East Meadow, authorities said. Also seized were two loaded shotguns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, two stun guns, and a stamped envelope addressed to an LGBTQ+ affiliated attorney containing the remains of a dead bird, authorities said.

Fehring, 74, faces up to five years when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert.