Topic Guide
The Years Jimin Received Repeated Death Threats: Anaheim, Fort Worth & Los Angeles
This is one of the darker pieces of BTS history, and it sometimes gets reduced online to a vague sentence:
“Jimin used to get death threats.”
The reality was more serious than that.
Across 2017 and 2018, Jimin was targeted more than once by anonymous online users who posted threats connected to upcoming BTS concerts in the United States.
These were not simply rude comments or normal anti-fan posts.
The threats became serious enough that Big Hit Entertainment, concert venues and American law enforcement became involved.
And because the incidents happened while BTS were touring, the concern was never only about Jimin.
Thousands of fans, BTS members, staff and venue workers would also be inside the same buildings.
March 2017 — Anaheim
The first widely reported incident happened during BTS’s 2017 BTS LIVE TRILOGY EPISODE III THE WINGS TOUR.
BTS were scheduled to perform at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on April 1 and April 2, 2017.
In late March, an anonymous social-media account posted a threat directed at Jimin and referenced the upcoming Anaheim concert.
The posts reportedly included disturbing imagery and information connected with the concert venue.
At first, Big Hit Entertainment said the company believed the threat was probably the work of an anti-fan trying to cause fear.
But they did not simply ignore it.
Big Hit stated that they would work with local staff and police to strengthen security around the venue.
The Honda Center also acknowledged that it was aware of the threatening social-media posts and said additional security precautions would be taken.
The concerts ultimately went ahead.
There was no reported attack.
But that should not make the threat seem harmless in hindsight.
The entire point of taking a threat seriously is to prevent the situation from ever reaching that stage.
May 2018 — Fort Worth
A little over a year later, it happened again.
BTS were preparing for their LOVE YOURSELF World Tour, which included concerts in Fort Worth, Texas.
An anonymous account published another threat against Jimin connected with the September 16, 2018 Fort Worth concert.
This time, the situation reached the Fort Worth Police Department.
Police publicly confirmed that they were aware of the threat and that it was being investigated.
That matters.
This was no longer just ARMY sharing screenshots and warning one another online.
Law enforcement had officially acknowledged the case.
Big Hit Entertainment responded as well.
The company said that regardless of whether a threat eventually proved genuine, it planned to take all necessary measures to protect BTS members and fans.
Big Hit also referred back to the previous incident involving Jimin and said extensive preparations had been made then too.
Again, the message was clear:
They were not going to gamble with safety simply because an anonymous threat might turn out to be fake.
July 2018 — another threat, this time connected to Los Angeles
Then, before the Fort Worth dates had even arrived, another threat appeared.
In July 2018, reports emerged that an Instagram account had posted another threat involving Jimin, this time connected with BTS’s upcoming September 5 concert in Los Angeles.
Big Hit Entertainment confirmed that it was aware of this threat too.
The company repeated its position:
Even if the authenticity of a threat was uncertain, it would prepare carefully and take the measures necessary to protect the members.
Contemporary reporting described this as the third publicly reported threat against Jimin, following:
2017 — Anaheim
2018 — Fort Worth
2018 — Los Angeles
That is what makes this piece of history especially unsettling.
It was not one isolated post that briefly frightened the fandom and disappeared.
There was a pattern of separate incidents across different tour periods.
ARMY were not only worried about Jimin
When stories like this get retold, the focus naturally falls on Jimin.
But concert threats create a much wider safety problem.
A BTS concert includes:
all seven members
dancers
touring staff
venue employees
security teams
production crews
and thousands of ARMY
So increased security was not simply about protecting one famous person.
Any credible threat connected to a crowded concert has to be treated as a potential risk to everyone present.
That is why venue and police involvement mattered so much.
What happened afterward?
Importantly, none of these widely reported threats resulted in the threatened attack actually taking place.
Big Hit specifically said of the earlier incident that careful preparations had been made and the situation had been resolved without an actual incident.
The concerts continued.
Jimin continued performing.
But that does not mean the experience should be rewritten as:
“Nothing happened, so it was fine.”
Security working successfully does not make the reason security was needed disappear.
Something ARMY lore sometimes gets wrong
This is another case where fandom retellings can become more dramatic than the verified record.
You may find posts online claiming to know:
exactly who was behind every account
one specific reason Jimin was targeted
exactly what Jimin privately thought about each incident
that every threatening account belonged to the same person
that a particular fan group definitely caused it
that authorities confirmed motives they never actually confirmed
Be careful with those claims.
The reliable public record establishes:
Jimin received repeated online death threats.
One widely reported case was connected with Anaheim in 2017.
Another was connected with Fort Worth in 2018.
Fort Worth Police publicly confirmed an investigation.
A further threat connected with Los Angeles was reported in July 2018.
Big Hit repeatedly said it would strengthen preparations and prioritize member and fan safety.
That is already serious enough.
There is no need to add an invented villain or motive.
Why this belongs in BTS history
BTS’s rise is often remembered through the exciting parts:
larger venues, louder crowds, chart records, awards, world tours and an increasingly global fandom.
But becoming more famous also brought a much harsher side of public attention.
Members were exposed not only to criticism and invasive behaviour, but occasionally to threats serious enough that police and venue security had to become involved.
For Jimin, this happened repeatedly during a period when BTS were rapidly expanding internationally.
And there is something especially uncomfortable about looking at photographs and performances from those tours while knowing that security teams were also having to prepare for situations like this behind the scenes.
ARMY saw the performances.
They saw Jimin smiling, dancing and continuing the show.
What fans did not necessarily see was every security discussion happening around those stages.
That is why this should not become a “scary Jimin fact” for shock value.
It belongs in the archive because it shows one of the costs that came with BTS becoming globally visible.
ARMY Note
There is also a lesson here for fandom spaces today:
Threats are not jokes just because they are posted online.
If someone makes a credible threat against BTS, another artist, a fan or anybody else, spreading the threatening material everywhere for attention can make the situation worse.
The safer response is to preserve necessary evidence, report it to the relevant platform or authorities, and avoid turning the person making the threat into a fandom celebrity.
Protecting BTS should never mean giving dangerous behaviour more attention than it already has.
This history is dark.
It does not need to be exaggerated.
The documented truth is enough.
“Jimin used to get death threats.”
The reality was more serious than that.
Across 2017 and 2018, Jimin was targeted more than once by anonymous online users who posted threats connected to upcoming BTS concerts in the United States.
These were not simply rude comments or normal anti-fan posts.
The threats became serious enough that Big Hit Entertainment, concert venues and American law enforcement became involved.
And because the incidents happened while BTS were touring, the concern was never only about Jimin.
Thousands of fans, BTS members, staff and venue workers would also be inside the same buildings.
March 2017 — Anaheim
The first widely reported incident happened during BTS’s 2017 BTS LIVE TRILOGY EPISODE III THE WINGS TOUR.
BTS were scheduled to perform at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on April 1 and April 2, 2017.
In late March, an anonymous social-media account posted a threat directed at Jimin and referenced the upcoming Anaheim concert.
The posts reportedly included disturbing imagery and information connected with the concert venue.
At first, Big Hit Entertainment said the company believed the threat was probably the work of an anti-fan trying to cause fear.
But they did not simply ignore it.
Big Hit stated that they would work with local staff and police to strengthen security around the venue.
The Honda Center also acknowledged that it was aware of the threatening social-media posts and said additional security precautions would be taken.
The concerts ultimately went ahead.
There was no reported attack.
But that should not make the threat seem harmless in hindsight.
The entire point of taking a threat seriously is to prevent the situation from ever reaching that stage.
May 2018 — Fort Worth
A little over a year later, it happened again.
BTS were preparing for their LOVE YOURSELF World Tour, which included concerts in Fort Worth, Texas.
An anonymous account published another threat against Jimin connected with the September 16, 2018 Fort Worth concert.
This time, the situation reached the Fort Worth Police Department.
Police publicly confirmed that they were aware of the threat and that it was being investigated.
That matters.
This was no longer just ARMY sharing screenshots and warning one another online.
Law enforcement had officially acknowledged the case.
Big Hit Entertainment responded as well.
The company said that regardless of whether a threat eventually proved genuine, it planned to take all necessary measures to protect BTS members and fans.
Big Hit also referred back to the previous incident involving Jimin and said extensive preparations had been made then too.
Again, the message was clear:
They were not going to gamble with safety simply because an anonymous threat might turn out to be fake.
July 2018 — another threat, this time connected to Los Angeles
Then, before the Fort Worth dates had even arrived, another threat appeared.
In July 2018, reports emerged that an Instagram account had posted another threat involving Jimin, this time connected with BTS’s upcoming September 5 concert in Los Angeles.
Big Hit Entertainment confirmed that it was aware of this threat too.
The company repeated its position:
Even if the authenticity of a threat was uncertain, it would prepare carefully and take the measures necessary to protect the members.
Contemporary reporting described this as the third publicly reported threat against Jimin, following:
2017 — Anaheim
2018 — Fort Worth
2018 — Los Angeles
That is what makes this piece of history especially unsettling.
It was not one isolated post that briefly frightened the fandom and disappeared.
There was a pattern of separate incidents across different tour periods.
ARMY were not only worried about Jimin
When stories like this get retold, the focus naturally falls on Jimin.
But concert threats create a much wider safety problem.
A BTS concert includes:
all seven members
dancers
touring staff
venue employees
security teams
production crews
and thousands of ARMY
So increased security was not simply about protecting one famous person.
Any credible threat connected to a crowded concert has to be treated as a potential risk to everyone present.
That is why venue and police involvement mattered so much.
What happened afterward?
Importantly, none of these widely reported threats resulted in the threatened attack actually taking place.
Big Hit specifically said of the earlier incident that careful preparations had been made and the situation had been resolved without an actual incident.
The concerts continued.
Jimin continued performing.
But that does not mean the experience should be rewritten as:
“Nothing happened, so it was fine.”
Security working successfully does not make the reason security was needed disappear.
Something ARMY lore sometimes gets wrong
This is another case where fandom retellings can become more dramatic than the verified record.
You may find posts online claiming to know:
exactly who was behind every account
one specific reason Jimin was targeted
exactly what Jimin privately thought about each incident
that every threatening account belonged to the same person
that a particular fan group definitely caused it
that authorities confirmed motives they never actually confirmed
Be careful with those claims.
The reliable public record establishes:
Jimin received repeated online death threats.
One widely reported case was connected with Anaheim in 2017.
Another was connected with Fort Worth in 2018.
Fort Worth Police publicly confirmed an investigation.
A further threat connected with Los Angeles was reported in July 2018.
Big Hit repeatedly said it would strengthen preparations and prioritize member and fan safety.
That is already serious enough.
There is no need to add an invented villain or motive.
Why this belongs in BTS history
BTS’s rise is often remembered through the exciting parts:
larger venues, louder crowds, chart records, awards, world tours and an increasingly global fandom.
But becoming more famous also brought a much harsher side of public attention.
Members were exposed not only to criticism and invasive behaviour, but occasionally to threats serious enough that police and venue security had to become involved.
For Jimin, this happened repeatedly during a period when BTS were rapidly expanding internationally.
And there is something especially uncomfortable about looking at photographs and performances from those tours while knowing that security teams were also having to prepare for situations like this behind the scenes.
ARMY saw the performances.
They saw Jimin smiling, dancing and continuing the show.
What fans did not necessarily see was every security discussion happening around those stages.
That is why this should not become a “scary Jimin fact” for shock value.
It belongs in the archive because it shows one of the costs that came with BTS becoming globally visible.
ARMY Note
There is also a lesson here for fandom spaces today:
Threats are not jokes just because they are posted online.
If someone makes a credible threat against BTS, another artist, a fan or anybody else, spreading the threatening material everywhere for attention can make the situation worse.
The safer response is to preserve necessary evidence, report it to the relevant platform or authorities, and avoid turning the person making the threat into a fandom celebrity.
Protecting BTS should never mean giving dangerous behaviour more attention than it already has.
This history is dark.
It does not need to be exaggerated.
The documented truth is enough.