LGBT

The man found with a mini arsenal in his car headed to the L.A. Pride Parade will soon be a wanted man in his home state of Indiana.

James Wesley Howell is currently on probation after copping a plea to pointing a gun at a neighbor last year. Clark County, Indiana Prosecutor Jeremy Mull tells TMZ his office filed paperwork Monday to revoke Howell's probation due to the L.A. arrest.

Mull says he expects a judge to sign an arrest warrant Tuesday -- and once he's released from custody ... he'll be sent back to Indiana in cuffs.

Omar Mateen's ex-wife is dancing around the subject, but her fiance says it flat out -- all the signs pointed to Mateen being gay ... or at least struggling with the fact he was gay.

Amid reports the Orlando mass murderer had been to Pulse nightclub multiple times ... Sitora Yusufiy and her current fiance, Marco Dias, were asked by a Brazilian reporter if Mateen was gay. Dias said Sitora believed Omar had "homosexual tendencies."

Dias also said Sitora told him she witnessed Mateen's father calling him gay several times.

Dias claims the FBI told Sitora to keep mum about Mateen's homosexuality in interviews with "American media" -- which might explain her Monday night appearance on CNN. Sitora said when she and Mateen married in 2009 he "confessed to me about his past ... and he very much enjoyed going to clubs."

She also says there were "pictures of him" -- but paused dramatically when asked if he was gay. Check it out ...

Lady Gaga wept as she read an emotional speech for the LGBT community and victims of the Orlando mass shooting Monday outside L.A.'s City Hall.

Gaga, an outspoken crusader for LGBT rights, called the massacre at Pulse, a predominantly gay club in Orlando, an "attack on everyone." Like Anderson Cooper, she also had trouble getting through the list of victim's names.

It's a moving speech with Gaga pointing out the LGBT community has more lovers than haters around the world. Grab a tissue first.

The "friend" James Howell -- who was arrested with an arsenal before L.A. Pride -- had driven cross-country to meet ... was just a guy he met online, and not an accomplice to a potential crime ... according to law enforcement.

We're told Howell originally told police he was meeting a friend and going to the parade -- leading cops to believe that person could be a threat to the public.

Law enforcement sources say they found the friend and he backs up Howell's story, but is adamant he was clueless Howell's trunk contained 3 assault rifles, high capacity magazines, and a 5 gallon bucket of chemicals cops suspect could have been used as a bomb.

We're told the friend told police he met the Indiana man online recently, and planned to meet in person to attend Pride together ... and that's all.

Cops believed the alibi ... and cleared him of any involvement.

However ... it's still a mystery as to what exactly, if anything, Howell had planned. We're told he's not budging during questioning. He remains in custody on $500,000 bail.

UFC superstar Daniel Cormier has a strong message for the LGBT community -- you are not alone.

Cormier was out in NYC promoting his fight with Jon Jones at UFC 200 -- when he opened up about the terror attack in Orlando.

"We gotta take care of each other," Cormier said ... "We have to be there to support each other in these situations as Americans, as human beings, as people."

James Howell -- the 20-year-old Indiana man who was arrested with an arsenal in his car hours before his planned arrival at the West Hollywood Pride parade was arrested less than a year ago for pointing a gun in a threatening manner ... TMZ has learned.

Howell got in an argument with his Indiana neighbor last October when he pulled a gun in anger. He was arrested and charged with pointing a firearm at another, as well as intimidation.

Howell copped a plea -- the firearm charge was dropped, and he pled to intimidation. Howell is currently on one year probation for that crime.

TMZ broke the story ... Howell was arrested in Santa Monica early Sunday morning after a homeowner reported a prowler. Police found an arsenal in his car, including three assault rifles, high capacity magazines, ammunition, and a 5 gallon bucket with chemicals to make a bomb. He told police he had traveled to California to attend the Pride parade.

TMZ also found this video posted by Howell, who clearly seems to have a fondness for firearms.

2:40 PM PT -- Cops have identified the suspect -- 20 year old James Howell from Indiana. Police say they found, "three assault rifles, high capacity magazines, and ammunition." Also, they found a 5 gallon bucket with chemicals capable of forming an improvised explosive device.

Cops also say as of now, there is no connection between James Howell and the shootings in Orlando.

A man with assault rifles was arrested early Sunday after telling cops his destination was the Pride parade later today in West Hollywood ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

Our sources say Santa Monica PD responded to a prowler call and found the man nearby the house that was allegedly targeted.

We're told he informed cops he was on his way to meet a friend for the Pride parade 10 miles away in WeHo. At a point cops searched his car and our sources say they found multiple assault rifles with a number of loaded magazines that were stacked and taped together -- a marker for someone looking to fire multiple rounds in rapid succession. Cops reportedly also found explosives and camouflage gear.

We're told the man has been arrested.

Santa Monica PD will not comment.

The Abbey's ready to burst with boys and vodka when hundreds of thousands descend on West Hollywood this weekend for L.A. Pride.

The Abbey has stocked the place with more than 1,000 liters of vodka, 3,500 cans of Red Bull and 7,500 bottles of beer. And there's plenty of eye candy for the boys AND girls -- 100 go-go dancers.

The Abbey -- once reportedly the largest purchaser of vodka in the world -- is expecting between 30-50k booze-guzzling customers.

Amber Heard's ex-girlfriend, who just claimed Amber's 2009 arrest for domestic violence was bogus because the cop was a homophobe with a hint of misogyny ... couldn't be further off the mark, because the officer is an openly gay woman who also contributed money to a domestic violence organization.

Amber's ex-domestic partner, Tasya van Ree, minimized their altercation at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, saying it was "misinterpreted and over-sensationalized by two individuals in a powerful position." She's referring to the cops who arrested Amber for allegedly grabbing and hitting Tasya.

Officer Beverly Leonard was the actual arresting officer. She proudly posted pics of herself and her partner a few years back. She's also posted pics of herself at Pride weekend.

Leonard also supported an organization in Seattle that helps women who were victims of domestic violence.

A source close to Beverly says the now-retired officer is indignant ... saying the arrest had nothing to do with homophobia ... she was arrested for breaking the law.

Although Tasya claims the incident was minor, police documents show there was actual property damage ... Tasya's pendant was broken during the scuffle, and the documents also show Tasya was extremely upset with Amber for the alleged attack ... so claim the responding cops.

Rosie O'Donnell's first time meeting Caitlyn Jenner was a classic -- as in, a classic screw up.

Rosie did a little stand-up in NYC Thursday night during a show with Cyndi Lauper and Boy George -- and recalled meeting Caitlyn at Kanye West's MSG show. Honest mistake on her part? Check out the video.

MLB investigators have determined there was NO malicious intent to cut the mics on the Gay Men's Chorus before the Padres game last weekend ... chalking the whole thing up to "human error."

The San Diego Gay Men's Chorus was supposed to perform the National Anthem before Saturday's game -- but when they began to sing, a woman's voice came over the P.A. system and drowned them out.

MLB investigated to see if foul play was involved ... but officials say the whole thing was just one big accidental screw-up.

In fact, investigators point out -- "the situation was exacerbated by the fact that the lead entertainment supervisor was involved in a car accident on Friday night and thus was unable to work on Saturday."

The staffers who covered for the injured supervisor "were insufficiently familiar" with their duties and screwed up -- but "employees involved had no malicious intentions."

MLB says the staffers have "universally relayed contrition for how the incident unfolded and the adverse impression that it created."

Bruce is gone and he's not coming back -- 'cause Caitlyn Jenner is NOT transitioning back into a man ... despite reports to the contrary.

The rumors stem from famous biographer Ian Halperin -- who claimed that while researching Caitlyn for a book, was told by a source that she was experiencing "sex change regret" and was considering de-transitioning back to a man.

Halperin says multiple sources close to the Kardashian family said the move wouldn't surprise them.

But Caitlyn's rep is calling full BS on the report -- telling the NY Daily News, "Of course it's not true."

The rep also called the story "idiotic."

Dave Matthews celebrated his band's 25th anniversary by making out .... with violinist Boyd Tinsley.

Actually, Boyd started it, Dave just finished it. The sneak attack kiss went down during DMB's anniversary show in Charlottesville, VA this weekend ... just as they were wrapping up an encore performance.

The 30th anniversary show ... probably won't be in North Carolina.

Donald Trump is a progressive on transgender issues ... saying the trans community is welcome to use any bathroom in his slew of buildings.

Donald was on "Today" when Matt posed the question ... if Caitlyn walked into the Trump Tower, what bathroom could she use?

"Transparent" is a forward-thinking show about transgender acceptance, but the kumbaya spirit stops at the bathroom door.

Sources connected with the production tell us, members of the crew are up in arms over the unisex bathroom on the set.

We're told the brass changed the drill ... from now on both bathrooms are open to all, with no restrictions. Just come on in and do your business, regardless of who's there.

Check out the sign -- it shows women and men ... and the symbol commonly used for all-genders.

The beef is that men, women and transgenders can all enter as they please, making it uncomfortable for some of the crew. Women are particularly worried about walking in and seeing a dude peeing at the urinal.

Now this is interesting ... we're told several crew members are too scared to complain, for fear they'll be labeled "transphobic," which would be the kiss of death on that set.

We reached out to Amazon ... so far no word back.

Cyndi Lauper will absolutely play her upcoming concert in North Carolina, but she's also joining the fight against the state's controversial HB2 law by forking over her profits.

Cyndi tells TMZ she will donate all profits from her June 4th show in Raleigh to Equality North Carolina -- an organization fighting to get HB2 overturned. She says, "I think the best way I can do my part is to turn my show into an entire day to build public support to repeal HB2." Her manager and agent will also donate their commissions.

Cyndi recently told one of our photogs that unlike Bruce Springsteen, who canceled his NC concert last weekend, she feels it's important to play for her LGBT fans there.

But she seems to be making it clear she has no beef with Bruce's strategy. She says "we all have to include ourselves in the effort" to build an inclusive society, but each person should do it the best way they know how.