A clown waving a bloody machete over his head on the side of a California highway spooked passing drivers on Wednesday.
Larry Tovey, 61, of Gilroy, wore a clown suit and red and white makeup on his face while holding a machete caked in fake blood, according to KSBW.
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He stood on the side of Highway 101 between Prunedale and Aromas, with his thumb drawn out, a gesture commonly associated with hitchhiking.
“Two deputies contacted Larry, with their guns drawn, and eventually figured out what he was up to,” the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
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After handcuffing and questioning Tovey, the deputies determined he was not threatening anyone although the machete was real.
“He didn’t actually threaten anybody. He just had a sick sense of humor,” said Cmdr. John Thornburg of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.