“I find your lack of sense disturbing.” A Star Wars fan and airman allegedly pretended to be an OSI agent to get backstage at Comic-Con last month. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Walking the floor at Comic-Con, you’re bound to see people pretending to be Darth Vader, Captain America, Batman or Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones.
What you don’t expect to run into is someone pretending to be an Air Force Office of Special Investigations special agent. But that’s exactly what a federal indictment alleges airman Jonathon Wall did last month at the Salt Lake City Comic-Con.
The Justice Department yesterday announced that Wall, 29, of Layton, Utah, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday on one count of pretending to be a federal officer, which could carry a jail term of up to three years, and another count of making a false statement to a federal agent, which could land him in jail for up to five years. Each count also could draw a fine of up to $250,000.
Wall allegedly demanded VIP tickets to the convention and claimed he needed to get in to apprehend a fugitive. Justice said that a retired Salt Lake City police officer who was working security noticed Wall’s alleged unusual behavior, and asked him about OSI and what fugitive he was hunting. The retired cop then called in real OSI agents to question Wall, Justice said.
NBC News then got Wall on the phone yesterday, and reported that he admitted to posing as the OSI agent. NBC said he called himself “a Star Wars fan who ‘made a stupid mistake.'” Wall told NBC he already had a VIP pass before adopting his ruse, but he wanted to get into the green room to rub elbows with celebrities. NBC also reported Wall is a refrigerator mechanic, who said he was “upset about problems at his job at Hill Air Force Base.”
Worst. Cosplay. Ever.
