A Lollapalooza security worker arrested after making bogus mass shooting threat 'to leave work early,' reports say

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A Lollapalooza security worker arrested after making bogus mass shooting threat 'to leave work early,' reports say
General atmosphere during day 4 of the Lollapalooza Festival at Grant Park on July 31, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois.Michael Hickey/Getty Images
  • A Lollapalooza security worker was detained for making a fake mass shooting threat, per The Chicago Tribune.
  • Janya B. Williams was charged with a false terrorist threat.
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A Lollapalooza festival security worker is facing charges after being accused of making a fake mass shooting threat in an effort to leave work early, according to news reports.

Janya B. Williams, an 18-year-old who was working security at the popular music festival in Chicago was charged with making a false terrorist threat on July 29, The Chicago Tribune reported.

Prosecutors say Williams sent a message at 3 p.m. through the TextNow app to her coworker saying: "Mass shooting at 4 pm location Lollapalooza. We have 150 targets," the outlet reported.

The coworker notified her supervisor about the message, which was then quickly sent to the FBI and the local police department, per the outlet, which cited prosecutors.

About an hour later, Williams told her coworker that a family member came across a threat on Facebook, Rolling Stone reported.

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When asked to show a screenshot of the post, prosecutors allege that Williams created a phony Facebook page under an alias with the name "Ben Scott" and made a threatening post on the account, according to the report.

The outlets reported that Williams screenshotted the post that read, "Massive shooting at Lollapalooza Grant Park 6 p.m," and showed it to her coworker, who sent it to her supervisor.

During their investigation, authorities linked the TextNow message to Williams' IP address and Apple iCloud, prompting them to take her into custody, per the Tribune.

Additionally, prosecutors said Williams said that she did what she's accused of "because she wanted to leave work early," according to the report.

Williams, who is being held on a $50,000 bail, is set to appear in court on Monday, per the outlets.

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