Comedian accused of threatening California public official after clash during set
A comedy act has escalated into a full-blown criminal investigation in California's Stanislaus County, where a comedian is accused of threatening a public official.
Court documents show the case allegedly stems from a comedy show at Che'root Lounge in Modesto, where surveillance video shows Anthony Krayenhagen performing and calling out a group of people that included Supervisor Channce Condit for being too loud during his set.
Surveillance video from a day later shows Condit back at Che'root, allegedly complaining about Krayenhagen's behavior toward his group.
Court documents show that Condit alerted the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office about escalating exchanges with Krayenhagen. On November 12, Condit alleges he received a message on Facebook that said "wassup? Is there still an issue?"
Then, Condit claims he called Krayenhagen and that the comedian yelled obscenities over the phone, allegedly telling Condit he is "green lit," a reference the court documents say is a go-ahead to execute a hit or action on a subject.
Court documents show a Stanislaus County detective assigned to the county's threat assessment center wrote the affidavit for the comedian's arrest warrant that says, "Due to the contemporary culture of mass casualty attacks …and political figure assassinations in the U.S…actions like Krayenhagen are treated as a serious threat and responded to directly."
Jessica Graves is an attorney who is not connected to this case.
"It just seems completely blown out of proportion," Graves said. "It's like, the comment is being so dramatically inflated into something it never was."
Krayenhagen has no criminal history in Stanislaus County, where he is from.
"I think what's absolutely missing here is the immediacy. The threat has to be clear, immediate, and specific, and you just don't have that here," Graves said.
Condit has also asked for a criminal protective order against Krayenhagen.
Krayenhagen is being held in the Stanislaus County jail on $750,000 bail. The comedian is due back in court in December.
CBS News Sacramento reached out to Condit for his comments on this arrest. He has not immediately responded.