A Detroit man was charged with 11 counts of making a terrorist threat in Madison County, Illinois, according to police.
Jarrett Maki, 25, Detroit City Football Club’s sports information director, warned employees of active shooters or made threats relating to guns at several businesses in the area, including Taco Bell, McDonalds, Sonic, Casey’s, Domino’s and Runway Lounge local bar, according to documents posted by the East Alton Police Department in Madison County.
The 11 threats happened between July 28 and Aug. 27, according to the police report.
On Saturday, Sept. 6, police detained Maki at the World-Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. On Sept. 8, Madison County State Attorney’s Office formally charged Maki.
Before detaining Maki on Sept. 6, police detained Austin Blair, 25, whose East Alton address the calls are tied to, on Sept. 3. Alton was charged with 11 counts of making terrorist threats alongside Maki.
Maki was released from custody on Tuesday, Sept. 10, according to a deputy clerk at the Madison County Courthouse. His next court date is Oct. 3 at 9 a.m. for a preliminary examination.
Wide-ranging threats
Police say the pair made numerous threats on July 28. They allegedly contacted employees and patrons of a Taco Bell in East Alton and said, “I see a dude with a big gun walking toward your store.” They allegedly threatened that a shooter was coming to a McDonald’s in East Alton and a Sonic store in East Alton, and “did not care if police were nearby,” according to the report. They allegedly said “there’s going to be an active shooter at your store in five to ten minutes” to a Casey’s in Wood River, Illinois.
Other threats include:
Maki has served as a content producer for Detroit City FC for several years, though he is currently suspended from all club operations, Co-Owner Alex Wright told the Free Press. The club has also removed Maki’s contact information from its website. Club officials were unaware of the matter until news stories surfaced, Wright said.
Charges stem between July 28 and Aug. 27, a period in which the club had four matches. During the season, staff are generally expected to be on hand during business hours. It is unclear whether Maki took time off or worked remotely.
“Most sports media positions demand hybrid situations,” Wright said. “I don’t recall any extended time off.”
Due to the pending litigation, club officials are declining further comment.
“We’re following the progress of the legal side of this … it’s a very serious matter,” Wright said.
New stadium on horizon but turmoil at club
Detroit City FC had much to celebrate this last year after announcing it would build a 15,000-capacity soccer stadium on the site of the abandoned Southwest Detroit Hospital in the Southwest and Corktown areas. AlumniFi Field, which will be the name of the future stadium, is projected to open in time for the 2027 season.
However, the club has confronted harsh realities since, from facing the news of the death of a man, who fell down an elevator shaft at the hospital site after a group reportedly entered the site, to losing top executives at the club.
Husband and wife Trevor and Tiffany Ebert-James, former sporting director and vice president of sporting and wellness, “parted ways” from the club nearly three weeks apart between the end of July and early August without a given reason.
Trevor James initially came on as the head coach and general manager in 2019 and was later promoted to sporting director. Ebert-James was the assistant general manager before taking on her latest role. The move also sparked outrage from the club’s Northern Guard Supporters group, who announced on their Instagram page that they would protest “the club’s treatment” of the couple—among other reasons—by discontinuing to wave flags, hang banners or pop the colorful smoke known to cast over the stands and field.
More than a week after Ebert-James’ departure, the club announced Nick Dasovic, the men’s first-team assistant coach, stepped down for personal and family matters.
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit City FC employee charged with making terrorist threats in Illinois
Reporting by Dana Afana and Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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