Trevor Weldon Ingram, 26, has been arrested on suspicion of emailing a bomb threat to the Fair Market concert venue during the South by South West (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas.
Ingram has been charged with making a terroristic threat and, if found guilty, could face up to 10 years in jail. A statement released by Bud Light, the show’s sponsor, said that police were “able to identify and locate the suspect believed to be tied to this threat and at 11:08pm a warrant was signed” for Ingram’s arrest.
The statement added, “There are no indications of any broader security concerns for any activities relating to this incident.”
The threat, which took place March 17, led to the cancellation of a SXSW concert that was due to showcase hip hop musicians The Roots, Ludacris and Rapsody. Police were called to the venue promptly but found nothing suspicious.
Roots’ drummer Questlove took to Twitter on the day of the threat to say “no one is Mr ‘show must go on’ than me. But we can’t risk our lives if we are told there was a bomb threat.”
The bomb threat comes amid a tense and troubling time for Austin. The city has been on high terror alert following several fatal letter bomb attacks which have occurred in recent weeks and an explosion that injured two people late on Sunday night. No arrests have been made in connection with the letter bomb attacks.
One of the letter bomb incidents killed 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House on March 2 at his home in Austin, Texas.
Another attack of a similar nature killed 17-year-old Draylen Mason and left his mother seriously injured on March 12. A separate package explosion occurred within hours of the attack, leaving a 75-year-old woman in critical condition.
All victims are people of colour. Austin police chief Brian Manley said “we are not saying that we believe terrorism or hate are in play, but we absolutely have to consider that.”
