Three 18-year-old men were arrested Wednesday morning after Bentonville police got multiple calls about a clown "terrorizing people with a horn" in downtown Bentonville, according to a news release from the Bentonville Police Department.
One woman said she was at the park with her children when a clown charged toward her, the news release stated.
Officers found the clown and two other men in a vehicle north of the square in Park Springs Park, the news release stated.
All three were arrested in connection with disorderly conduct, cited and released.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette does not typically name those arrested in connection with misdemeanors unless they are public figures or there is some other compelling public interest in their identity.
The initial investigation found the men did not intend to cause harm, "but were playing off of media attention related to clown sightings and safety concerns," the news release stated.
According to state law, disorderly conduct is engaging in "tumultuous behavior" to cause "public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm," the news release stated.
The Associated Press reports that reports of menacing clowns, fueled by social media, have been spreading across the country.