Man Accused Of Threatening Super Bowl With ‘Big Bang’

Man Accused Of Threatening Super Bowl With ‘Big Bang’ (Local6 – J’ville)

Photo: Albert Ray Strickland A man accused of leaving voice mail on the City Council president’s phone saying “killing 100,000 people would get people’s attention,” was arrested Thursday, accused of making a bomb threat. “It was quite threatening toward the Super Bowl and making sure it didn’t happen,” Council President Elaine Brown said of the long message left at her office Tuesday afternoon. The message began, “Hi Elaine.”

A man who said his name was Albert Strickland left a cell phone number police traced to Jacksonville resident Albert Ray Strickland, 56. He was charged Thursday with threatening to discharge a destructive device — a felony. No bomb was found in his Hyde Park home. In the message, the man said Jacksonville didn’t deserve the Super Bowl and said he wanted the mayor, city council and members of law enforcement to resign. He said police had tried to kill him several times. In the message, the man described himself as a scientist intent on stopping the Super Bowl, that he believed in the Big Bang theory and was “obsessed with the size it needs to be.”

The police report indicated that officers who interviewed Strickland said his voice matches that in the recorded message. Strickland is being held at the Duval County jail and is scheduled for a first appearance Friday afternoon.

Obviously, this nut wasn’t actually going to bomb the Super Bowl. But these bizarre cries for help certainly don’t help anything, given the strain huge events like this put on the infrastructure of a city–especially one unaccustomed to them.

Apropos of nothing, Strickland sure looks a lot like Claude Akins.

FILED UNDER: Policing, Sports, Terrorism, ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Bithead says:

    Hmmm.
    Guy’s a pretty good ringer for Jerry Orbach, too.
    Except for the being a nut part.

  2. Local 6 is an Orlando station… not Jacksonville

    For Jax stories on this see
    here
    or
    here

  3. Attila Girl says:

    I was thinking Harrison Ford, without the good looks.