Prosecutors ‘not laughing’ at threat to Mahomes, Kelce; urge judge to allow trial
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Prosecutors say the post was a reckless, true threat against Chiefs players.
- The concert was paused for roughly 40 minutes while police searched for the suspect.
- Prosecutors cite statements as evidence that the defendant knew the post was threatening.
While an Illinois man and his attorney describe a social media post about shooting Chiefs players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce at a 2024 concert at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium as “satirical” and tied to sports rivalry trash talk, prosecutors argue that it was reckless and serious enough to warrant a felony trial.
Aaron P. Brown, 24, of Winchester, Illinois, filed a motion late last month to have the case dismissed, arguing that he didn’t make any “real threats” and that the felony charge violates his rights to free speech and due process.
Prosecutors disagree, insisting that Brown recklessly communicated a threat on X (formerly Twitter) and that the First Amendment does not prevent them from pursuing the case.
“Even assuming Defendant’s communication was meant to serve as just ‘satire’ or a ‘joke’ in the context of some unspoken ‘sports rivalry,’ the State here is not laughing,” prosecutors wrote in their response.
Prosecutors pointed out that the Kansas City Police Department’s analysts working the 2024 Morgan Wallen concert at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, who identified and flagged the post, “certainly took it as a true threat.”
“In fact, they and other officers of KCPD took the post so seriously that the entire concert was put on hold for the better part of an hour while law enforcement worked to identify and locate (Brown) within the crowd in order to take him into custody for further investigation,” prosecutors said in their response.
The post was made by an account called “Gooey Bag,” and read: “Mr. Wallen at Arrowhead with the wife. If he brings out Mahomes or Kelce I’ll take the (expletive) shot. (Expletive) em. Also (expletive) you (expletive) @taylorswift13.”
Mahomes, Kelce and Chris Jones were in attendance and escorted Morgan Wallen through the Arrowhead Stadium corridors before the concert. The concert had been delayed about 40 minutes, according to court documents.
Prosecutors claim that aside from the fact that the post clearly expressed an intent to commit violence, Brown had a moment to stop and consider whether it would be wise to make such a statement beforehand when his girlfriend told him not to post it on social media, yet he did so anyway.
The fact that Brown deleted the post before even being contacted by law enforcement services is cited as further evidence that he was aware the post could be perceived by others as threatening violence and wouldn’t be taken as just a joke, prosecutors contend.
At the request of the Kansas City FBI, X disclosed the account user’s information to police. Police then got phone numbers for Brown and his girlfriend.
When police called, they initially did not reveal their locations or willingness to cooperate with law enforcement, according to court documents.
Brown later told detectives which section he was in, but when plainclothes officers arrived, they couldn’t find him. Eventually, the officers spotted Brown and his girlfriend walking away from the section to the main hallway.
Officers detained him for allegedly making a terrorist threat, according to court documents.
When interviewed by detectives, Brown called the post “a stupid, stupid, stupid mistake,” and said he had never posted a threat on social media, which prosecutors argue further demonstrates his awareness of the threatening character of the post.
Jackson County prosecutors charged Brown on Aug. 3, 2024 — the day after the concert — with one felony count of making a second-degree terrorist threat. A grand jury indicted him on the same charge in December 2024. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison.
This story was originally published February 11, 2026 at 1:58 PM.
