Liver King Brian Johnson has been released on bail following his arrest for making alleged “terroristic threats” against podcast host Joe Rogan.
Johnson posted a $20,000 bail and left the Texas county jail on 25th June, according to Travis County Court records viewed and reported by Rolling Stone.
The court has imposed strict conditions on Johnson’s release, including a restraining order requiring him to maintain a minimum distance of 200 yards from Rogan and his family. Additionally, Johnson has been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation within a week, with the deadline set for next Wednesday.
Following his release, Johnson seemed to reference his situation in a video shared on Thursday afternoon. Filmed in an empty field in Austin with two dogs, he cryptically stated, “I might be leaving Austin sooner than we were hoping… I love this state of Texas.” In a separate Instagram story, he mentioned needing to “clean the jail off of me.”
“The goal was to come on Monday to pick a fight, a loving fight… I was hoping that the jail thing and all that stuff would be the beautiful gifts that they were. They were really good,” Johnson explained in the video. He then added ominously, “Now there are other deeper threats that are happening.”
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The 47-year-old social media personality, known for promoting an ancestral lifestyle centred around eating raw organ meats, then took his comments in an unexpected direction, asking, “Does anybody know what it’s like to be bullied? Like, really bullied? Like for a long time? So much so that you don’t think the world won’t be a better place with you in it… That’s not what’s happening to me right now.”
Johnson’s arrest stemmed from a series of Instagram videos where he challenged Rogan to a physical confrontation. In one of these videos, he declared, “I have no training in Jiu-jitsu; you’re a black belt, you should dismantle me. But I’m picking a fight with you. Your rules, I’ll come to you, whenever you’re ready.”
The Austin Police Department confirmed they were notified about Johnson making threats against Rogan, explaining that “detectives reviewed the posts and observed that Johnson was travelling to Austin while continuing to make threatening statements.”
Police further elaborated to Rolling Stone that “Detectives contacted Mr. Rogan, who stated he had never had any interaction with Johnson and considered the posts to be threatening.” Based on this information, authorities obtained an arrest warrant for Johnson on a charge of Terroristic Threat.
Johnson was subsequently taken into custody at the Four Seasons Austin on Tuesday, facing one Class B Misdemeanour charge of Terroristic Threat Causing Fear of Imminent SBI.
