BOSTON— Two Iowa men accused of making online threats of violence against a Pokemon competition in Boston were ordered held without bail Tuesday after a judge rejected arguments by their lawyers that their comments amounted to idle online bravado.
Judge Thomas Horgan ordered Kevin Norton, 18, of Ames, and James Stumbo, 27, of Boone, held for at least four months as they await trial.
Prosecutors say the men made social media threats against last month’s World Pokemon Championships and had a 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15 rifle and nearly 300 rounds of ammunition in their car when they tried to register for the event Aug. 20.
During a dangerousness hearing in Boston Municipal Court, Boston police Detective James Simpson said Stumbo posted a photo of Norton’s car, with two guns crossed on the trunk, with the message, “Kevin Norton and I are ready for worlds Boston here we come!!!”
Simpson also described chatroom conversations Stumbo participated in with others in which references were made to the Boston Massacre of 1770, the Boston Marathon bombings and the Columbine massacre.
