Joaquin Phoenix's violent 'Joker' origin story arrives as movie theaters and law enforcement brace for potential fallout.
Bryan Alexander and Kevin JohnsonFederal authorities are monitoring and warning local law enforcement of a series threatening social media posts linked to the R-rated"Joker," now in theaters, a law enforcement official said Thursday.
Fears have been heightened because of the infamous, chaos-loving character at the center of the story – and the long-held but debunked belief that the gunman who shot 12 moviegoers to death at a 2012 opening-weekend showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado, was dressed as or inspired by Joker.
Warner Bros. re-enforced the sentiment with a statement last week: "Make no mistake: neither the fictional character Joker, nor the film, is an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind. It is not the intention of the film, the filmmakers or the studio to hold this character up as a hero.
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