Crime

Holy Smokes, Batman! 3 Men Arrested After Making Threats in Separate ‘Dark Night Rises’ Incidents

3 Men Arrested After Making Threats Before or During Dark Night Rises

Timothy Courtois

(TheBlaze/AP) — At least 3 men accused of making threats during or after watching the new Batman movie have been arrested in separate incidents, underscoring moviegoers’ anxieties and heightened security in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at a Colorado theater showing the film.

Last night, TheBlaze told you about a Maine man who was arrested when he told authorities that he was on his way to shoot a former employer a day after watching “The Dark Knight Rises.” This incident follows former graduate student James Holmes, 24, and his alleged opening firing in a theater in a Denver suburb that left 12 dead; the shooting also injured 58 people.

(Related: Man Planned to Kill Former Employer After Watching ‘The Dark Knight Rises’)

As reported by TheBlaze’s Mytheos Holt, Timothy Courtois of Biddeford, Maine, had been stopped for speeding, and a police search of his car found an AK-47 assault weapon, four handguns, ammunition and news clippings about the mass shooting that left 12 people dead early Friday, authorities said.

Courtois said he had attended the Batman movie on Saturday, although police have not confirmed whether he actually saw the film.

“I guess we’re taking everything at face value,” State Police Lt. Kevin Donovan said. “It’s very scary.”

Police searched Courtois’ home later Sunday and found a machine gun, several other guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

“We don’t know what his true intentions were,” said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety. “Based on the arsenal that was confiscated, we brought in our counterparts from the FBI and ATF to assist with the investigation.”

3 Men Arrested After Making Threats Before or During Dark Night Rises

Courtois was charged with speeding and possession of a concealed weapon. However, he’s not alone. Others, too, have been arrested for similarly bizarre actions.

In Southern California, a man at a Sunday afternoon showing of the film was arrested after witnesses said he made threats and alluded to the Aurora shooting when the movie didn’t start.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were called to a cinema complex in Norwalk after moviegoers said 52-year-old Clark Tabor shouted: “I should go off like in Colorado.” They said he then asked: “Does anybody have a gun?”

A security guard saw Tabor with a backpack on his knees in the second row, but deputies who searched the bag, the theater and its surrounding area did not find any weapon.

3 Men Arrested After Making Threats Before or During Dark Night Rises

Separately, moviegoers in Sierra Visa, Ariz., panicked when a man who appeared intoxicated was confronted during a showing of the movie. The Cochise County Sheriff’s office said it caused “mass hysteria” and about 50 people fled the theater.

Off-duty Border Patrol agents tackled Michael William Borboa, 27, who had a backpack with him, according to The Arizona Daily Star. Authorities said it contained an empty alcohol container and a half-empty moonshine bottle.

Borboa was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct, and threatening and intimidating.

Despite some jitters over the horrific shooting, moviegoers around the country still flocked to theaters to see the film, which was the final installment of the phenomenally successful Batman trilogy. Warner Bros. reported that it brought in $160.9 million over the weekend, making it the third highest opening weekend ever, after “The Avengers” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.”

Comments (20)

  • phillipwgirard
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 3:17pm

    Now people are scared of DRUNKS? lol

    Report Post » phillipwgirard  
  • mcmeador
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 3:07pm

    Are you serious, The Blaze? What in the world is this pathetic mess disguised as news? Stop trying to draw connections between The Dark Knight Rises and violence. What is the purpose? So some guy was planning to kill someone and it happened to be a day after he saw this movie? So what? Another guy was just drunk at the theater? So what? Seriously, what is this crap? Is this The Blaze or The Vigilant Citizen?

    Report Post »  
  • red_white_blue2
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 12:21pm

    People who make comments like that need to be confronted verbally, and possibly physically so the message is sent to the larger population, that we will not stand for threats, we will not stand for violence, we will not back down, and we will not live in fear. We will not do these things, and we will give no excuses to the elitist government that we want to “top” to be brought “down” upon us–as they are so looking to do.

    Report Post » red_white_blue2  
  • Platonician
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 11:58am

    This is exactly the climate of hysteria that the Obama operatives who orchestrated this massacre wanted. It creates a perfect distraction from the current problems and paves the way for the gun policy changes they will soon apply. What other atrocities will they carry on until November?

    Report Post » Platonician  
  • dont_drive_slow_in_the_left_lane_obliviot
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 11:39am

    what a bunch of media hype BS. find a large enough demographic and you’ll get the same thing.

    NEW FLASH: at least 3 people who watched the superbowl started fights and threatened people one actually owned a gun and two were drunk! The subliminal message is that the superbowl makes people violent and the NFL is responsible! now please click one of our ads!

    c’mon, this is msnbc level reporting.

    Report Post » dont_drive_slow_in_the_left_lane_obliviot  
    • kaydeebeau
      Posted on July 25, 2012 at 5:44pm

      3 people were arrested for speech / thoughts. Gov’t taking overreaching “safety measures” Perhaps that is the point of this news item?

      Report Post » kaydeebeau  
  • The0bserver
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 10:54am

    Sounds to me like a bunch of dumb wiseguys and a panicky public.

    Report Post »  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 10:53am

    If I go off on Encinom today…it‘s Batman’s fault.

    Report Post » Gonzo  
  • SurhanSurhan
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 9:53am

    I was told that in America the government cannot arrest you for speech it doesn’t like. Is America turning into a police state?

    Report Post »  
    • Hoax And Chains
      Posted on July 24, 2012 at 10:01am

      It depends on who you threaten and who you say it to. America lives under the guise of certain freedoms but they exist only based on how our masters in government determine them on any given day. Just look at the SCOTUS’s decision on the unconstitutional Obamacare.

      Report Post »  
  • Jimizrite
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 9:30am

    I don’t go to movie theaters …. 3 years ago I spent all winter building a “theater” in my basement complete with a mini “balcony” .. popcorn machine .. candy cabinet .. 55″ screen .. and theater sound system …….. No exit door, no nutcases allowed!

    Report Post »  
  • neiman1
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 9:27am

    Mass hysteria says it all.

    Report Post »  
  • scrudge
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 9:23am

    Ah Yes….. I see the law suits have started… CULT movies tend to bring out the mentality disturbed… after taking all the firearms from folks.. next will be to ban trucks… some nut in Texas killed 13 people the other day… with one of those assult trucks… want some good news ?…… USAF took pELOSIES plain away from her…. extensive personal use….. POOR BABY

    Report Post »  
  • tommyg524
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 9:19am

    43 ‘When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting-place, but it finds none. 44Then it says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So will it be also with this evil generation.’

    Report Post »  
  • HKS
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 9:13am

    More evidence, It‘s Hollywood that’s responsible for these mindless actions. Weak minds produced by Government schools can’t process such things. Hollywood and the rest of the liberal society would have you the “it’s the guns fault”. http://www.seraphicpress.com/western-education-breeding-ground-for-mass-murderers/

    Report Post » HKS  
  • Choctaw25
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 9:09am

    They’re coming to get me Ha-Ha
    They’re coming to get me He-He

    Report Post » Choctaw25  
  • FeedtheHogs
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 9:05am

    Just a sign of things to come.

    People have lost hope like I’ve never seen it in the past 55 years. There was more hope during the cold war with hiding under your desk during air raid drills.

    God help this world.

    Report Post »  
  • Mr.Fitnah
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 9:05am

    Maybe we should all be fitted with shock collars so when we scare or offend we can quickly be brought to heel.

    Report Post » Mr.Fitnah  
  • SREGN
    Posted on July 24, 2012 at 8:56am

    If they can fill you with enough fear, they can make you long for tyranny.

    Report Post »  

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