A Raleigh military veteran who warned of a “bloodbath in Raleigh” after losing access to gender-affirming care has been sentenced to 13 months in federal prison, with a judge also recommending mental-health treatment while behind bars. The person identified in court papers as Ashley Moore pleaded guilty in January to transmitting a threat in interstate commerce after prosecutors said Moore emailed a mass-shooting threat when their gender-affirming care was interrupted.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Moore pleaded guilty on Jan. 14, 2026 and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan to one year and one month in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The release says the VA Office of Inspector General investigated the threats and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Devoe prosecuted the case. “We will not tolerate threats to our citizens,” U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle said in the statement.
Federal court records reviewed by The News & Observer show Moore had been receiving treatment for gender dysphoria through the VA in Michigan before moving to Raleigh in the summer of 2025, but did not immediately receive the same care after relocating. Prosecutors say Moore then emailed VA employees and the VA Suicide Prevention Team in Durham, writing, “There will be a bloodbath in Raleigh come Monday,” warning the attack would end with the sender’s own death and claiming the violence would spur better treatment of veterans. The complaint also points to earlier threatening communications and notes Moore was arrested in 2023 in Indianapolis on an intimidation charge that was later dropped.
How investigators responded
Raleigh police arrested Moore on Aug. 14, 2025 outside Second Street Place, a Wake County low-barrier shelter, after officers say Moore was screaming and acting erratically. Moore was briefly detained so authorities could decide whether involuntary mental-health commitment was needed.
The shelter, known as Second Street Place, opened as a White Flag low-barrier site in early 2025 and operates as Wake County’s low-barrier shelter during the winter months, according to WRAL. The VA Office of Inspector General led the inquiry into the threats and federal prosecutors pursued the charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
What the charge means
The offense of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce is a federal crime under Legal Information Institute materials on 18 U.S.C. § 875, which makes it unlawful to send communications containing threats to kidnap or injure another person. The statute carries a maximum of five years in prison. Actual sentences can vary widely depending on intent, criminal history and how dangerous the conduct is considered.
The News & Observer reports that, in addition to the prison term, Moore will be supervised for three years after release.
Care access and mental-health concerns
Advocates say the case highlights what can happen when already fragile mental health collides with sudden gaps in medical care. Interruptions in gender-affirming treatment, they argue, can intensify depression and suicidal thinking among transgender people, a concern mental-health groups often raise when policy limits are proposed.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness notes that transgender individuals are nearly four times as likely as cisgender people to experience a mental-health condition, and that access to affirming care is associated with better outcomes.
The case sits at the intersection of public-safety enforcement and gaps in health-care coordination for vulnerable veterans. Federal officials say they will continue to bring charges when threats are made against the community, while advocates keep pressing the VA and local systems to improve how care is transferred and how mental-health supports are delivered when veterans move or change providers.
