A Missouri man is now in custody after making threats of a killing spree while dressed up as the Joker.
Jeremy Garnier live-streamed himself on Facebook Monday night while dining at the Blueberry Hill restaurant in St. Louis where he made bomb threats and promised to kill people in Missouri. The stream began with the 48-year old man getting himself dressed up as the Joker before smoking a pipe in his car and driving to a local mall. When he arrived, security promptly asked him to leave. Garnier, apparently not looking to start trouble quite yet, was fast to oblige and made his way to the restaurant to continue telling around 2,000 viewers his plans.
Upon arriving at Blueberry Hill, Garnier ordered a Spite, saying to his viewers:
Yeah, I can’t be inebriated when I’m planning on, you know, killing a bunch of people. It’s not something you can do. I’m live on Facebook right now. I’ve got like nearly 2,000 people watching me.
When another patron overheard Garnier’s threats, they quickly called the cops and had him arrested before he was able to leave the premise. Prior to the arrival of police, Garnier was heard saying:
I’m not armed, and I weigh 150 pounds. I don’t have no weapons on me. I’m not going to do nothing. You’ve got me messed up. Except all these bombs.
Todd Phillips’ 2019 film Joker (starring Joaquin Phoenix) was a dark and gritty take on the infamous Batman villain’s origins. Though the movie broke box office records and earned Phoenix an Oscar for his stunning and realistic portrayal of the Crown Prince of Crime, it garnered backlash for its subject matter during its initial theatrical run.
Some felt the film was a morally gray feature, stating that it condoned violence and bloodshed, though Phillips and Phoenix have vehemently denied that it took any such stance. Fears of theater shootings or other such crimes kept anxiety high during Joker‘s first few weeks at the box office, prompting authorities at some cinemas to take extreme precautions during screenings of the movie, going so far as to come equipped with automatic weapons for protecting against any terror-related events.
Though he has a criminal record for burglary and more dating back as far as 2000, Jeremy Garnier’s friends and fans have posted a GoFundMe page with a $5,000 goal in an attempt to pay for his legal defense, claiming the Joker impersonator was simply attempting to entertain his followers. He has been charged with making a terroristic threat and remains in custody for now.