What happened to the man who allegedly called in a bomb threat at G3 Conference in September?
By Elizbeth Prata
On a Friday evening on September 22, 2023, thousands of conference-goers were settling into their seats at the G3 Conference, ready and eager to view the premiere of The Essential Church documentary. G3 stands for ‘Gospel-Grace-Glory’ and the conference was founded by Atlanta-area pastor Josh Buice of Pray’s Mill Baptist Church.
Suddenly a person came on stage to announce there had been a bomb threat, and everyone must evacuate the cavernous building, the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC). Similar warnings were being issued in the adjacent vendor area. It’s a massive venue and it took a few moments for people to process the information and then act by moving toward exit doors.
Then dozens and hundreds of Law Enforcement and other first responders continuously checked and cleared the massive building for the few hours. Meanwhile, many of the attendees who were lodging at the next door hotel, congregated in the lobby.
A threat caller wants to disrupt normal activities by creating anxiety and panic. Well, the threat did disrupt activities, but it did not create fear or panic. The attendees simply streamed out of the GICC, went their separate ways, and prayed. Those who were lodging in the next-door hotel gathered in the Library and…sang.
They sang Great is Thy Faithfulness and the sound reverberated in the marble lobby and into the hearts and memories of many who were there. It moved those who viewed the recording later, too. Great IS thy faithfulness, Lord!
Bomb Threat at the G3 2023 Conference Led Us Back to the Hotel Lobby Where We Worshiped God in Song
The conference continued the next morning with only 1 minor adjustment to the schedule and concluded later that day as scheduled without incident.
The perp was arrested that very evening in the parking lot of the Conference Center, according to reports, Timothy Mixon, a 33-year old, was arrested and removed from the scene.
“Bomb threats create significant operational and psychological impacts.” FMI source
So what happened AFTER? I’ve been tracking the court case. The case in Clayton County Magistrate Court was filed the next morning, with a ‘Warrantless Arrest Affidavit Against MIXON, TIMOTHY MATTHEW.’ The charge was “False Public Alarm.”
A judge was assigned and Mixon’s first appearance was 09/24/2023 via ZOOM. Mixon’s bond was set $5000.00 with special conditions, and an application for indigent counsel was filed.
The next month, on October 24, there was a preliminary hearing via ZOOM. The next day a waiver of hearing was filed, with a case disposal.
The disposition of the case as of October 25, 2023 was that the case was “Bound Over to St. CT., Waver – Cnt 1 Warrantless.”
I’m not a lawyer but I believe this translates to being bound over from Magistrate Court to State Court.
According to Michael M. Hawkins, a Criminal Defense Attorney in Atlanta, GA, speaking not about this case but answering a question as to what “bound over” means,
“Bound over simply means the case is being sent forward in the court system to be prosecuted. A bind over can be from a municipal court to a state court, or from a magistrate court to a state court where there is a probable cause hearing. It is a normal step a case takes in the criminal justice system. The next step will be arraignment, where [defendant] will be advised of the charges pending against her, and will be given the opportunity to enter a plea of guilty (where [defendant] will go to sentencing), or not guilty (where [defendant] will be scheduled for trial).“
The case does not appear yet on the State Court website, so no further information is available at this point. I will update when it is filed and the public can view it. Meanwhile, no motivation for Mixon’s act has been publicly presented as far as I can detect, but certainly the man needs prayer.
