A 31-year-old Cleveland man is accused of posting a series of social media videos threatening to bomb the Cuyahoga County Justice Center and harm a judge, prompting deputies to tighten security inside the downtown courthouse. Daniel McCloud was arrested on Sept. 15 and arraigned Tuesday on a charge of making a terroristic threat, a third-degree felony under Ohio law.
According to court records cited by Cleveland.com, McCloud posted three videos between Aug. 29 and Sept. 3 in which he threatened to bomb the Cuyahoga County Justice Center in downtown Cleveland and made threats of violence toward a judge while he had an open criminal case pending in Common Pleas Court. A judge set McCloud’s bond at $100,000 following his arraignment.
Case Moves to Common Pleas Court
McCloud’s case was bound over from Cleveland Municipal Court to Common Pleas Court, and prosecutors have requested that it be presented directly to a grand jury, the outlet’s report notes. McCloud was declared indigent at his arraignment and had a public defender appointed to represent him. His attorney, Kevin Cafferkey, declined to comment on the case.
The Justice Center houses the Common Pleas Court, the county prosecutor’s office, the clerk of courts, municipal courts and the county jail, making it one of the busiest public buildings in downtown Cleveland on any given day. That mix of court operations and detention functions under one roof is part of why the threat prompted an immediate security response from the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff’s Office Tightens Security After Tip
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office received a tip about the videos and responded by increasing security on the first floor of the Justice Center as well as on the floor where McCloud’s case was assigned. Deputies working security in the building were also issued a be-on-the-lookout alert tied to the threats, per the same account.
Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer have requested a police report related to the incident, but county spokesperson Jen Ciaccia said the law department is still reviewing the report before its release. That means key details, including the full narrative behind the alleged threats, remain unavailable to the public for now.
Ohio’s terroristic threat statute, Section 2909.23 of the Ohio Revised Code, bars threatening to commit or cause a specified offense under certain conditions, according to the law’s text. The full elements of the charge as applied to McCloud’s case were not detailed in the available court records.
