Kansas football’s Joe Krause arrested after alleged bomb threat to team facility

Joe Krause, an offensive lineman on Kansas’ football team, has been charged with a felony after a bomb threat was allegedly made to the program’s facility on Monday.

Krause was charged with making an aggravated criminal threat, a “severity level 5 person felony,” according to the Kansas City Star.

The Jayhawks’ football facilities were evacuated Monday amid reports of a bomb threat before an “all-clear” was issued later in the day.

Krause is accused in Douglas County 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.”

Following the evacuation, the University of Kansas Police Department said Monday that a “subject was identified and arrested for making the threats.” 

Krause has been a walk-on at Kansas for three seasons; he appeared in two games in 2020, redshirted in 2021 and did not appear in a game last season.

Krause told a judge Tuesday that he had not yet retained a lawyer but planned to do so.

He was released on Tuesday after posting $10,000 bail, and is next due in court in early August.

Citing court filings, the Star reported that Krause faces “a minimum of 31 months (two years and seven months) to a maximum of 136 months (11 years and four months) in prison and/or a fine of up to $300,000 and 24 months of post-release supervision” if convicted of his charges.

Kansas is “aware of a situation involving one of our student athletes,” a university spokesperson said in a statement, adding that “We take the safety of our staff, student-athletes and coaches very seriously.

“We are gathering more information and will have no further comment at this time.”