MD Man Arrested for Posing as Cop, Attacking Gay Men

From 2018 to 2021, former Maryland teacher Michael Thomas Pruden posed as a U.S. Park Police officer at D.C.’s Meridian Hill Park (also called Malcolm X Park) to attack five men in five separate incidents. According to CNN, at least four of his targets were men he believed to be gay, as the park is known to be a meeting place for men seeking male sexual partners. Pruden would surprise his victims at night, shining a flashlight in their faces, and allegedly spray them with a “chemical irritant.”

The 48-year-old Pruden was arrested on Thursday at Virginia Beach and charged with “five counts of assault on federal land, one count of impersonating an officer and a hate crimes enhancement,” states USA Today. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the five assaults, plus a maximum of three years for impersonating a federal officer, and may receive more time if his sentence is enhanced for the hate crime. It is unclear whether Pruden has an attorney.

Pruden did face trial previously for a 2021 attack on two men in Daingerfield Island, but was acquitted, according to NBC News.

Anyone else who may have been a victim or witnessed a similar attack is advised to contact the FBI, states CNN.