A Waterford man arrested in connection with an alleged bomb threat against the Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium told police his comment on an Aug. 16 story on theday.com was meant as a "sarcastic bad joke political comment" and he regretted the post following his arrest.

James Quinn, 44, of 27 Oil Mill Road was charged Aug. 16 with first-degree threat involving hazardous substance and second-degree breach of peace after he allegedly posted a comment on a story on theday.com about bombing Dodd Stadium.

Quinn was released on a $20,000 bond. He was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, but his case was continued to Sept. 25 in Norwich Superior Court.

Mayor Peter Nystrom alerted Norwich police to the comment on a story which reported that Connecticut Tigers owner E. Miles Prentice had refused to meet with a local Muslim group. The Day removed Quinn's comment containing the alleged threat because it violated the newspaper's commenting policy.

Prentice's affiliation as chairman of a right-wing Washington, D.C., think tank led Muslim and other local religious leaders and residents to seek assurance that people of all backgrounds and faiths would be welcome at Dodd Stadium. Later, on Aug. 16, Prentice agreed to meet with representatives of various religious groups in a meeting yet to be scheduled.

According to a Norwich police report released Thursday, Norwich officers contacted New London and Waterford police after receiving Nystrom's complaint. Norwich and Waterford police met with Quinn at his home about 6 p.m. Aug. 16, and he allegedly admitted to posting the comment between 7 and 7:30 a.m.

Quinn consented to a search of his home, and police found no evidence of materials related to a bomb or explosive devices. Police seized two laptop computers and one desktop computer.

During an interview at the Norwich police station, the report said Quinn told them he copied and pasted a portion of Prentice's quote from the story, "peace through strength," which he called a "typical Republican statement," and when he posted his comment, he meant it to be "a sarcastic bad joke political comment" aimed at the Republican party in general and not toward any one person or the stadium, police wrote in the arrest report.

"Quinn stated once the police arrived at his house and explained the situation, he understood the seriousness of his action and wished he never made the post," the police report stated.

He was released on a $20,000 nonsurety bond on Aug. 16 and "was also advised not to go onto the property of Dodd Stadium."

The posted comment also prompted Norwich police to evacuate the stadium and request bomb-sniffing dogs from the Mohegan Tribal Police Department to comb the facility prior to a Connecticut Tigers game that night. Tigers staff also set up tables to check all bags being carried into the stadium, which had been unusual to that point.

The Tigers have continued to check fans’ bags at the stadium entrance and plan to do so for the remainder of the baseball season, which ends on Labor Day.

c.bessette@theday.com