Kansas football lineman Joe Krause no longer with Jayhawks after alleged bomb threat
Former Kansas football offensive lineman Joe Krause — who faces a felony threat charge following an alleged bomb threat that was called into the football complex in July — is no longer a KU student, nor a member of the football program, a KU Athletics spokesperson confirmed to The Star.
Last week, KU football coach Lance Leipold announced Krause’s suspension from the team.
“He’s suspended right now from the program,” Leipold said. “That’s really all I know from our perspective.”
Krause was arrested on Monday, July 24, and stands accused of “unlawfully, feloniously, and with the intent to place another in fear, or to cause the evacuation, lock down or disruption in regular, ongoing activities of any building, communicate a threat to commit violence.”
Krause appeared before a Douglas County judge via Zoom on Wednesday. His attorney, Christopher T. Brown, asked the judge for a future hearing, which was granted.
Krause’s next court date is set for Wednesday, August 30.
The Star obtained an affidavit through Douglas County court records with additional details about the case.
The affidavit says activities at the Anderson Football Complex and related football facilities were stopped for approximately five hours — from 3:10 p.m. to 8:01 p.m. — because of the threat.
It also alleges that, through a messaging system used by KU Athletics called RealResponse, the threat came in from an anonymous account with the final message: “There is a bomb at the football facilities.”
Damon Tucker, interim deputy chief of the University of Kansas Police Department, said on the evening of Monday, July 24, that a “subject was identified and arrested for making the threats” and that an “all-clear” was issued for the Anderson Family Football Complex, Beatty Family Pavilion and David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium just after 8 p.m.
According to the court filing, the penalties for the charge Krause is facing range from “a minimum of 31 months (2 years, 7 months) to a maximum of 136 months (11 years, 4 months) in prison and/or a fine of up to $300,000 and 24 months of post-release supervision.”
Krause went to Shawnee Mission East and spent three seasons on the KU football team as a walk-on. He redshirted in the 2021 season and hadn’t seen in-game action since appearing in two contests in 2020.
