A man who disrupted a June 14 anti-Trump protest in downtown Bloomington is charged with felony intimidation for reportedly making comments indicating he had placed an explosive device at the scene.
The man threw a bag on the ground, police said, and uttered something about an explosive device while placing a key fob into the pocket of a man who tried to give him a hug to defuse a tense situation at the corner of Kirkwood Avenue and Walnut Street.
The bag was a tactical armor carrier containing ballistic rifle plates, Bloomington Police Département Capt. Ryan Pedigo said in a news release.
Police questioned the 31-year-old Bloomington man and took him to the Monroe County Jail on preliminary charges of felony intimidation where the threat is to commit terrorism and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. He was booked in at 1:50 p.m. June 14 on a $50,500 bond.
On Monday afternoon, no formal charges had been filed by the Monroe County prosecutor.
Hundreds of people gathered around the Monroe County Courthouse square for the anti-Trump Bloomington protest on Saturday, June 14.
About 1:45 p.m., BPD officers went to the downtown intersection after 911 callers reported several protesters had tackled a man and were holding him down. His black Honda was parked in the crosswalk, blocking the road.
Witnesses said the man had gotten out of his car with a large stick in his hand that he used to break the car’s windows.
“He then reportedly began walking with the stick and was yelling at people attending the demonstration and threatening people by waving the stick towards them,” the news release said. “A man tackled (him) to the ground and was assisted by others in holding him there until officers arrived.”
The bystander who tackled the suspect feared for his safety because he thought the man had a weapon inside the bag. The man who hugged the suspect told police “he was saying things that placed him in fear that there may be some sort of explosive device connected with the fob.”
Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heradt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Man faces intimidation charge after tense incident during Bloomington anti-Trump protest
Reporting by Laura Lane, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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