‘Unlock my f—ing anime’: DPS arrests Houston man after threatening call to governor’s office
by:
Cora Neas
Posted: Aug 6, 2026 / 11:24 AM CDT
Updated: Aug 6, 2026 / 11:47 AM CDT
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A Houston man faces a criminal case in Travis County for, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, threatening the Governor’s Office over a law the man allegedly said prevented him from watching an anime.
Joseph Roy Ozment, 35, faces one third-degree felony count of terroristic threat against a public servant. KXAN has reached out to his court-appointed counsel for comment.
According to an affidavit written by a DPS special agent, Ozment allegedly called the Governor’s Office on the afternoon of July 25. DPS claims Ozment left the following voicemail (KXAN has redacted the profanity in the transcript provided by DPS):
The call was made from a cell phone that DPS claimed was registered to Ozment.
DPS interviewed the employee who initially reviewed and reported the message. He “confirmed that he was in fear not only for his life but also for his coworkers’ and the general public at the [office],” according to the affidavit.
The special agent also wrote that he believed the message’s threat was made to put a group of the public “in fear of serious injury” or to coerce “the executive branch of the state government to change legislation.”
If convicted, Ozment could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Texas banned anime? Not quite
The affidavit does not say which anime Ozment tried to watch or how he attempted to watch it.
Most major anime streaming websites, such as Crunchyroll, HIDIVE and Yomi, remain available to access for Texans. KXAN double-checked this Thursday.
While the state legislature has not banned anime, two laws come to mind that could have impeded the caller’s access.
The first is a 2023 state law requiring adult websites to verify the age of any visitor before allowing access to content. In response, several pornographic streaming websites simply blocked all access from devices in Texas.
2025 | US Supreme Court upholds Texas age verification law
Another law is Texas’ app store age verification law. It requires a similar age verification process for smartphone users who want to download software from an app store such as Google Play. There’s currently ongoing litigation over the law’s constitutionality, but the
law is in effect until that concludes.
In the voicemail, the caller said their Google account says they’re older than 18 years old. That would cover the app store requirements. It wouldn’t apply to pornographic websites, which are required to have users upload their photo ID.