US: Sword-wielding man in Virginia arrested after dressing up as The Joker

A 31-year-old man in Virginia was arrested after he was spotted dressed up as the comic book supervillain The Joker. Jeremy Putman was arrested in Winchester after police received reports about “a suspicious male dressed as ‘The Joker’”, reported The Washington Post. [caption id=“attachment_3352672” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Jeremy Putman was arrested for dressing up as The Joker. AP[/caption] The Associated Press also reported that Winchester Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Hall said that the department had several 911 calls reporting a man dressed up as The Joker, wearing a cape and carrying a sword. What is unusual is that even though dressing up as The Joker — especially the character played by the late Heath Ledger — is not illegal and actually quite a popular activity, Putman was charged with wearing a mask in public. The police in Winchester referred to the Virginia Code 18.2-422 for the arrest and said that in Virginia, a person older than 16 would violate the law if he or she was wearing a mask “with the intent to conceal his identity.” ABC News reported that Putman is being held at the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Centre on a $2,000 secured bond. It is not clear whether he has an attorney.