Atlanta Police officers take Billy Joe Cagle into custody inside the airport less than 15 minutes after being alerted to his arrival on Oct. 20, 2025. (Atlanta Police Department)
ATLANTA - The man accused of planning a mass shooting at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is now formally preparing to claim he was legally insane at the time of the alleged offense, according to a newly filed federal court motion.
Billy Joe Cagle to plead insanity
What we know:
Defense attorneys for 49-year-old Billy Joe Cagle submitted a notice to the court stating he intends to assert an insanity defense and introduce expert testimony about his mental condition. The filing, entered December 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, marks the first official indication that Cagle’s legal strategy will center on claims of a mental disease or defect.
The notice states that Cagle will present expert evidence "relating to a mental disease or defect or any other mental condition of the defendant bearing on the issue of guilt."
Atlanta airport shooting threat
The backstory:
The new motion comes as Cagle undergoes a court-ordered mental evaluation in federal custody. A judge ruled last week that the assessment must take place inside the detention facility where he is currently held, despite defense efforts to secure his release on bond for inpatient treatment. His attorneys have said they plan to revisit the bond issue once the evaluation is complete.
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FULL: Man arrested at Atlanta airport
The Atlanta Police Department released this video showing the arrest of a Carterville man at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Oct. 20, 2025.
Cagle was arrested at the Atlanta airport in October after family members called 911 and reported he had threatened to "shoot up" the terminal. Investigators say he was detained inside the building and that officers recovered a loaded AR-15-style rifle from a truck outside. His family later told authorities he suffers from schizophrenia and had been off his medication.
He faces multiple federal charges, including attempted violence at an international airport, interstate transmission of threats to injure, and felon in possession of a firearm.
Mental evaluation
What's next:
Cagle's evaluation due date is just over a month from now.
The Source: The details in this article come from a filing in federal court. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting was also used. FOX 5's Tyler Fingert contributed to this article.