Maine Batman Arrested After Facebook 'Threats'

Maryland's Batman is a superhero—but Maine's caped crusader is a little different. A Bar Harbor man who has created a Batman alter-ego was arrested for threats he made on Facebook Sunday (that's April 1) that he says were satirical jokes. "I demand payment of 1 million dollars or I will blow up the hospital," wrote Christopher Schwartz on his character's Facebook page. "Once the funds are secured, private message me for further instruction."

Police arrived at his house the same day; he told them he was willing to publicly apologize, he tells the Bangor Daily News ... but an officer says Schwartz also asked the cops if they had brought the million bucks. He was arrested on a charge of terrorizing and later left jail on $1,000 bail. Subsequent posts apologize for what he called an April Fools' joke. "None of this is real and should NOT in anyway be taken as such," he said. But "in the era we live in," such comments can't be taken "lightly," police say. The local district attorney is set to review the possibility of formal charges. (More Batman stories.)