Man arrested for making a bomb threat in an effort to jump the line at a free Doja Cat concert in Indianapolis: Police forced to clear crowd before singer takes stage in freezing weather
- The concert featuring Doja Cat and pop band AJR was being held to coincide with Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship
- Police rushed to AT&T’s Playoff Playlist Live! at Monument Circle and quickly determined that it was a false alarm
- Witnesses told police there was who claimed he was armed
- ‘IMPD officers responded, searched his bag and did not find an explosive,’ police tweeted. ‘The man had outstanding warrants and was immediately arrested’
An impatient music fan was arrested after being accused of making a bomb threat to try and jump the line to get into a free Doja Cat concert in Indianapolis on Saturday night.
The concert featuring the pop star and the band AJR was being held ahead of Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship game between Georgia and Alabama.
Indianapolis police rushed to AT&T’s Playoff Playlist Live! at Monument Circle and quickly determined that it was a false alarm after witnesses told police about the man, who claimed he was armed.
‘IMPD officers responded, searched his bag and did not find an explosive,’ the Indianapolis Police Department tweeted. ‘The man had unrelated outstanding warrants and was immediately arrested for those.’
Doja Cat (pictured) performed a free concert outdoors in Indianapolis Saturday as part of the festivities for the College Football Playoff National Championship
People waited outside for hours for the show, which was interrupted and cleared out for 20 minutes due to a bomb threat
The show went on as planned, with thousands in attendance to celebrate the sports weekend in Indianapolis
Crowds gathered at Monument Circle in Indianapolis as early as 5 p.m. on Saturday evening
The concert was free to all who attended and most stuck through the bomb threat to get back in
The concert was held at Monument Circle, which is home to the city’s Soldiers Sailors monument
Deputy Chief Joshua Baker explained the scene further: ‘A fan wanted to advance in line so he exercised very poor judgment and told those around him in line he had a bomb in his backpack.’
‘Someone did the right thing and alerted IMPD,’ he added. ‘The backpack was clean.’
The search lasted about 20 minutes before the concert went on as planned.
Eyewitnesses and social media posters described a chaotic scene, with people waiting in line for hours to attend the free outdoor concert in freezing temperatures.
When concert organizers announced the show late last year, they said gates would open at 5 p.m. and space would be first-come, first-served.
Pop band AJR were the opening act for Doja Cat at the free show in Indianapolis Saturday night
