Washington [US], April 5 : The man who was accused of stalking actress Scarlett Johansson has been arrested for allegedly threatening to bomb Saturday Night Live's studios, where her husband, Colin Jost, works.
The New York Police Department took Michael Branham into custody on April 2, one day after the alleged incident, according to court records obtained by E! News.
At his arraignment, the 48-year-old pleaded not guilty to charges of falsely reporting an incident and making a threat of mass harm, citing court documents. His bail was set at 100,000 dollars.
Branham was detained after sending a bomb threat to a Connecticut college, which an administration alerted authorities about. Two people briefed on the matter to the publication. Two law enforcement officials said that the threat was not credible, as per the outlet.
Branham's public attorney, Jamie Niskanen-Singer, contended at the April 3 arraignment that the bomb threat could be the work of a scammer, claiming that his client had previously been duped by someone impersonating Johansson online, as per E! News.
"He may have been hacked, your honor," the attorney said, pointing out that the only evidence was a text message. "It's very possible here that there is someone that is setting him up."
The judge denied the request and also issued both Johansson and Jost orders of protection against Branham at the arraignment. A hearing on the bomb threat case has been scheduled for April 8, court records show, according to E! News.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor