Man indicted on terrorism charge after posting threats against Las Vegas casinos
LAS VEGAS NV Sept 2 2019 A man was indicted in District Court on Thursday on a terrorism charge after posting threats on social media against Las Vegas casinos.
Kenneth Strauss, 45, was ordered to be held on a $150,000 bond on Aug. 29 for one count of making threats or conveying false information concerning acts of terrorism, court records showed.
He posted on his Twitter account, “And all Casinos that have banned will be destroyed effective immediately.”
Strauss was arrested on July 27 at the Trump International Hotel just after 4 p.m.
According to his arrest report, Strauss attempted to check in at the Trump hotel around 2:40 p.m. He told staff he had been kicked out of the Red Rock hotel-casino and needed somewhere to stay. Front desk staff found this information concerning, but still allowed Strauss to check in.
Earlier that day, at around 8:40 a.m., Las Vegas Metropolitan police responded to the Red Rock regarding an interaction the hotel had with Strauss, the arrest report said. Allegedly, Strauss attempted to lure an 8-year-old boy from the pool area.
Officers contacted Strauss at his room at the Red Rock, and he told police he thought he recognized the boy from when he lived in Pittsburgh. According to the arrest report, Strauss approached the boy and gave him his room number so the boy and his parents could meet with him.
“Red Rock management did not feel comfortable with the allegation and decided to have [Strauss] collect his belongings and was eventually trespassed,” the arrest report said.
Around 3 p.m., a call regarding a suicidal person, identified as Strauss, came from The Venetian. According to his arrest report, Strauss told security he would harm anyone who came near him, as well as himself.
Venetian security who spoke to police said they were worried Strauss would begin shooting people, so they created a team of armed security personnel to watch Strauss’s room, the arrest report said. Las Vegas police were able to conduct a welfare check, but he was not in the room.
Security at The Venetian also told police Strauss said he did not feel safe “due to a shooting occurring at the Trump hotel similar to Oct. 1” and wouldn’t leave the hotel, the arrest report said.
Strauss was seen on Venetian security footage leaving the property around 2:30 p.m. via taxi. By 4 p.m., police located Strauss at the Trump hotel and placed him in handcuffs, the report said. During his interview with police, Strauss said he “has had a rough time in Las Vegas since his altercation at the World Series of Poker earlier this month.”
On July 5, Strauss was playing in WSOP at the Rio hotel-casino. According to his arrest report, he had placed a bet where if he had lost, he had to pull his pants down and expose himself, the arrest report said. Strauss lost his hand and dropped his pants.
Strauss also explained to police how he “needed to do more to complete his end of the bet,” the arrest report said. Strauss then went to the Luxor hotel-casino, saw an empty craps table, stood on top of the table and began yelling. He also dropped his pants and exposed himself.
Strauss was escorted out by security and went to a psychiatric hospital. According to his arrest report, he got out of the hospital on July 15 and checked into the Red Rock for a month. After he was kicked out of the Red Rock, Strauss went to The Venetian for a two-night stay from July 25 to 27.
On July 25, Strauss was taken into custody by security staff at the Aria hotel-casino for trespassing after being previously warned, the arrest report said.
When Las Vegas police asked about the tweets he made, Strauss claimed he was trying to warn his friends about shootings and other natural disasters, and that his tweets were taken out of context, according to the arrest report.
According to the arrest report, Las Vegas police asked to see Strauss’s phone, but before he gave it to police, Strauss began deleting messages, contacts and his previous tweets.
“A reasonable person would believe someone guilty of making threats via social media would attempt to destroy the evidence stored on their phone. This is exactly was Kenneth did when provided the phone,” the arrest report said.
Police said Strauss showed several signs of schizophrenic as he was seen talking to himself, was heard repeatedly saying “kill them all” and flipped off security cameras.
Strauss is scheduled to appear in court again on Sept. 10 at 9 a.m.
