NEW YORK, N.Y. — A Pike County man who is listed as a fugitive in four criminal cases found new trouble in New York City last month, when he was arrested for allegedly threatening to bomb the studio of Saturday Night Live, apparently in connection to an obsession with actress Scarlett Johansson.

Michael Joseph Branham, 48, whose last known address in Pike County was on the Left Fork of Island Creek, now faces charges of falsely reporting an incident and making a threat of mass harm. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is next scheduled to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 21.

According to the New York Post, Branham allegedly sent a text on his school’s messaging app, saying, “The next time you here [sic] from me, I will be on CNN for exploding a bomb in Saturday Night Live audience.”

The SNL studio is the workplace of Johansson’s husband, Colin Jost, who co-hosts the show’s famous “Weekend Update” sketch with Michael Che.

Last year, Johansson tried to get a restraining order against Branham, saying he had harassed her for more than a year and showed up at her house in November of 2023. Her case was dismissed after her attorney was unable to serve papers on Branham.

Branham’s social media pages are full of posts professing his love for the actress, who he calls his fiancée.

Branham’s public defender has made statements in court that her client was the victim of scammers posing as Johansson and that it is possible the threat was sent by someone who hacked his account in order to set him up.

Branham is currently listed as a fugitive in four felony cases in Pike County, including two cases alleging bail jumping, one case charging him with DUI and meth possession, and one cases involving accusations that he used stolen checks to purchase auto parts, which he later returned for cash.

Image of Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost credit Festival de Cine de Cannes 2023 con Jean-Christophe Berjon | Capítulo 8.