Bryan P. Flecken

The attorney for an Allegheny County man jailed for allegedly making a threat against a Butler County school says his client — who has no criminal history — is being held on excessive bail after making what he argues was not a threat, but merely a very distasteful joke.

Bryan P. Flecken, 28, of Bridgeville continues to be held in the Allegheny County Jail on $250,000 bail after being charged by the South Fayette Township police with misdemeanor terroristic threats, following an investigation into online comments he allegedly made a day after a 19-year-old gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

Police said Flecken made a specific threat to “shoot up” the Butler School District.

Attorney Giuseppe Rosselli said the quarter-million-dollar bail is “excessive,” as Flecken has no criminal history, and he doesn’t believe the alleged comments at issue amounted to a threat.

“As an attorney it is my job to determine whether or not the conduct is criminal in nature,” he said. “And I don’t believe this was a threat. Mr. Flecken has no criminal history whatsoever, except for a speeding ticket a couple years ago. He does not own guns, does not have access to guns and has no history of violence whatsoever. I am very disappointed that he is currently locked in a cage.”

Rosselli said because of the high bond, Flecken is classified as a “high-risk inmate” and is being held with maximum security inmates.

“He is holding up terribly,” he said.

To learn more about the Flecken case, read Friday’s Butler Eagle.