The Greenville, Kentucky Police Department has released a statement distancing itself from the recent arrest of an EXODUS fan "terroristic threats" after he posted the lyrics to the band's song "Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer)". 31-year-old James Evans posted the following on Facebook on August 24: "Student bodies lying dead in the halls, a blood splattered treatise of hate. Class dismissed is my hypothesis, gun fire ends in debate." According to 14News.com, multiple agencies received calls concerned about the post, resulting in Evans' arrest. The warrant said Evans was arrested because, "he threatened to kill students and or staff at school." Evans was placed in the Muhlenberg County Detention Center for eight days before being released on September 3. On Tuesday, September 9, the Greenville Police Department released the following statement: "The recent arrest of a Muhlenberg County man for posting song lyrics on social media has caused a great deal of controversy. Many concerned fans have expressed their disapproval of the GPD for this arrest. However, no officers from the GPD were in any way involved in the criminal charges and arrest of this man. The charges were filed by a Muhlenberg County School Resource Officer of the Muhlenberg County Police. Please refer all further inquiries to the Muhlenberg County Police." According to Billboard.com, local police officers showed up the day of Evans' original Facebook posting at his house in Central City, where they asked him if he planned on harming anyone. "I assumed the conversation got resolved," said Evans. The next day, the officers returned to his house while Evans was at work, asking his wife what kind of car he drove and if he was in possession of any weapons. "They informed her that I may or not be charged," he said. "They said they were going to talk to me at work, but they never showed up. I didn't think it was that big of a deal." The following morning, officers showed up at his workplace and issued Evans a warrant for his arrest. "They never even cuffed me, just put me in the back of the car," he said. "They knew I wasn't dangerous. They were kind of shocked, too, because they thought it had been resolved. They just had to serve it because it was in their jurisdiction." EXODUS subsequently issued a statement, saying, "EXODUS does not promote or condone terrorists, threats or bullying." EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt continued, "James Evans was simply posting lyrics to a band he likes on Facebook, and he was locked up for it. The song 'Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer)' was written as a view through the eyes of a madman and in no way endorses that kind of fucked up behavior. "It was the Virginia Tech massacre perpetrated by Seung-Hui Cho that was the subject and inspiration to write the song, one in which we put the brakes on playing it live after the Sandy Hook shooting, as we did not want to seem insensitive... When we start to overreact to things like lyrics by any band, including EXODUS, and start arresting people, we are caving in to paranoia and are well on our way to becoming an Orwellian society." Evans' case will be deferred for six months and he will have to undergo a mental evaluation. If he complies with the court, the charges will be dropped from his record.
Post by Greenville KY Police Department.
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Post by Greenville KY Police Department.
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