SCREENSHOT FROM VIDEO BELOW
Supporters of Jeremy Garnier, 48, say he was only playing a character and wasn't really threatening anyone.
Gotham is evidently safe once again as of Monday night, when a man clad in a fairly convincing Joker costume was arrested in the Delmar Loop and charged with making "terroristic threats" in the first degree.
University City police say that University City resident Jeremy Garnier, 48, was arrested Monday night in the 6500 block of the Delmar Loop at approximately 8:15 p.m. following reports of a disturbance involving a man in a costume.
"The caller(s) further advised the suspect was making threats via the Facebook Live app. and streaming the live video feed," University City police say in a statement. "After officers searched the area, the suspect was taken into custody, without incident for various violations."
Garnier's video, which is still on his Facebook page, shows that he was in Blueberry Hill at the time of his arrest.
"I don't drink alcohol," the video shows Garnier tell a bartender upon ordering a Sprite. "I can't be inebriated when I'm planning on killing a bunch of people."
While that seems damning, friends and supporters of Garnier claim that it was all a misunderstanding, and have launched a GoFundMe to raise money for an attorney.
"He was in full makeup and costume as The Joker and was entertaining his followers by acting like The Joker," the campaign's description reads. "The video is on his Facebook wall. Someone reported mistakenly that he was making 'threats' when he was only playing a role. He is being held at St. Louis County jail charged with making 'terroristic threats' and given no bond. While this was undoubtedly not Jeremy’s best decision considering the consequences...he was not threatening anyone."
The video itself seems to bear that out. At about an hour long, it begins with Garnier in what appears to be a private residence, dressed in a purple suit with clown makeup on and generally acting very Joker-y. From there he gets into a car and drives to the Galleria, where he wanders around talking to employees and shoppers alike, noting that some 2,000 people are watching him on his feed.
Within a fairly brief time, police approach Garnier and begin to question him, saying they'd received a report that he was making threats. Garnier claims that's not the case and that he's a performance artist, and the shoppers he was speaking with when police approached seem to back him up. An officer tells Garnier that he's not allowed to be in the mall with facepaint on, and Garnier agrees to leave.
From there he drives to Blueberry Hill, telling his viewers about Joe Edwards. Upon arrival he is asked to show ID, which he doesn't have, but he persuades a worker to let him inside, where he sets about filming Edwards' wall of photos and a Simpsons display case.
It's shortly after his seemingly in-character remarks about "killing a bunch of people" that police arrive and put Garnier in cuffs. "It's hard being sexy," Garnier says of the day's police attention. "It comes with a cost."
The video itself seems to bear that out. At about an hour long, it begins with Garnier in what appears to be a private residence, dressed in a purple suit with clown makeup on and generally acting very Joker-y. From there he gets into a car and drives to the Galleria, where he wanders around talking to employees and shoppers alike, noting that some 2,000 people are watching him on his feed.
Within a fairly brief time, police approach Garnier and begin to question him, saying they'd received a report that he was making threats. Garnier claims that's not the case and that he's a performance artist, and the shoppers he was speaking with when police approached seem to back him up. An officer tells Garnier that he's not allowed to be in the mall with facepaint on, and Garnier agrees to leave.
From there he drives to Blueberry Hill, telling his viewers about Joe Edwards. Upon arrival he is asked to show ID, which he doesn't have, but he persuades a worker to let him inside, where he sets about filming Edwards' wall of photos and a Simpsons display case.
It's shortly after his seemingly in-character remarks about "killing a bunch of people" that police arrive and put Garnier in cuffs. "It's hard being sexy," Garnier says of the day's police attention. "It comes with a cost."
Garnier was charged the following day with Terrorist Threats 1st Degree, and a judge ordered him held without bond.
"This is an extremely serious felony charge," writes Glenda Volk, the woman who launched the GoFundMe. "I’m asking for your help so I can retain an attorney to get Jeremy a psych evaluation to show he truly is not a threat to society and to hopefully get a bond and get these charges dropped or at least reduced. I will be eternity grateful for any help."
Watch the video for yourself below:
Watch the video for yourself below:
