The rifle wielding protester sought by Dallas police as a suspect during last week's riots that left five cops dead says he has been forced into hiding after receiving 'thousands' of death threats.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown described Mark Hughes, without naming him, as 'a person of interest who witnesses at the scene say was involved in the shooting' during a panicked news conference while the city was in meltdown.
An image of him carrying an AR-15 during the Black Lives Matter protest was then shared on Twitter by the force, being retweeted tens of thousands of times.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown described Mark Hughes (pictured), without naming him, as 'a person of interest who witnesses at the scene say was involved in the shooting' during a panicked news conference while the city was in meltdown
The department later posted that Hughes - their person of interest - had turned himself in. He was released a short time later, having had no involvement in the shooting of eleven officers.
Micah Johnson, 25, was the man responsible for killing five police officers and wounding six other officers and two civilians.
However, Hughes has since been inundated with death threats by strangers online adamant that he had a role in their deaths.
He says he has received 'thousands' as a direct consequence of being 'defamed' by the Dallas Police Department.
Hughes' attorney, Paul Saputo, said: 'The world saw him as a mass-murderer. Why? Because he was a black man carrying a gun.'
Mr Saputo confirmed that Hughes has not 'ruled out' taking legal action against Dallas police.
Dallas Police released an image of Hughes brandishing a rifle as he walked through the city carrying an assault rifle and wearing a camouflage shirt. The force tweeted: 'Please help us find him!' but he was released after handing over the weapon and being questioned
Speaking last week, Hughes said: 'I can't believe it. In hindsight, with 20/20 I could easily have been shot.
'We received a phonecall that my face was on as a suspect and I immediately flagged down a police officer.
'Police officers were lying. They said they had video of me shooting the gun, which is a lie. They said they had witnesses saying that I shot a gun, which is a lie.
Micah Johnson, 25, was the man responsible for killing five police officers and wounding six other officers and two civilians
'At the end of the day the system was trying to get me.'
Mr Johnson shot dead five policemen after a peaceful Black Lives Matter march turned violent.
Hundreds of people had marched through Dallas earlier on Thursday demanding justice for Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, who were both shot dead by police in the preceding days.
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