The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are getting involved with the opening weekend of Joker, as the government entity warned law enforcement ahead of time that there are potential threats of mass shootings at showings of the film according to CNN.
The Join Intelligence Bulletin issued the warning previously this week which were later obtained by CNN. According to the bulletin, the FBI had no information to exact or credible threats towards specific theaters or locations but the bureau accumulated a unprecedented amount of tips on social media since May.
The concerns have escalated since the film’s premiere primarily due to the aftershock of the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado which left 12 people killed and 70 wounded at the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises. Concerned law enforcement have multiplied in the ensuing weeks and in Fort Sill, Oklahoma the army has stepped in to assist.
Authorities iterated in the intelligence bulletin that the threats from Joker may have take serious inspiration from the Aurora shooting. The movie contains references to a community of involuntary celibate known as “clowncels.” According to the bulletin, the clowncels have been responsible for killing 27 people since 2014 in the U.S. and Canada.