Possible threat prompts increased security at Jackson Browne concert

ByWILL GRETSKY ABCNews logo
Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Police in Orlando, Florida, will increase their presence at tonight's Jackson Browne concert at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts after receiving a possible threat.

"We are aware that there is a planned Jackson Browne concert Jan. 23 at the Dr. Phillips Center and there will be an increased security presence at the event," Orlando police said in a statement.

The move follows a Saturday "Resistance Fair" at the Unitarian Universalist Church in West Lafayette, Indiana, where members of the congregation were mobilizing voters ahead of the 2018 midterms.

Members arrived Sunday to discover that vandals had targeted the church, hanging two banners outside containing racial epithets and a number of slurs, authorities said.

One of the banners referenced Jackson Browne and the date of his Orlando concert. The other banner mentioned recent mass shootings in Orlando and Las Vegas.

Orlando police said they are "in communication with police in West Lafayette."

West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis said his city notified the FBI about the incident, posting on Facebook, "We will not allow our embracing of all that is right to be targeted by those who feel empowered to deliver a message of hate, violence and exclusivity."

West Lafayette city officials will hold a "Unite against Hate" rally Wednesday night to show solidarity with the church.

Authorities in West Lafayette and Orlando have yet to make an arrest in the case.

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