An 18-year-old Lollapalooza security guard is facing charges after allegedly sending fake mass shooting threats toward the event over the weekend.
Janya Williams has been charged with terrorism and making a false threat, both are considered class one felonies.
The State’s Attorney’s Office reported that a supervisor of the event received a text message about a mass shooting threat stating, “Mass shooting at 4 p.m. Location Lollapalooza we have 150 targets.”
An Emergency Disclosure Request was made by the FBI Joint Task Force members to investigate the matter.
The investigation revealed that the number from which the threatening message originated matched Williams. She was subsequently located and escorted to the event’s command post.
Another threat was sent via Facebook, claiming “Massive shooting at Lollapalooza grant park 6:00,” which was also found to be created by Williams, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Williams admitted to the police that she had created and sent the threats through the TextNow app.
Detectives believe that Williams concocted the threat herself under a fake profile named “Ben Scott.” The post read, “Massive shooting at Lollapalooza Grant Park 6:00 p.m.,” in line with the court document.
The supervisor promptly contacted her superiors, and the FBI soon became involved. An FBI analyst was able to trace the post back to Williams and her location, according to the documents.
Williams was apprehended for questioning and confessed to creating the fake post because she wanted to leave work early, as detailed in the documents.
She is currently being held on $50,000 bail and is due back in court on Aug. 8.