A Maine man has been accused of making a "copycat" threat after watching the new Batman movie, underscoring moviegoers' anxieties and heightened security in the wake of Friday's deadly mass shooting at a Colorado theater showing the film.

Timothy Courtois of Biddeford, Maine, was arrested when he told authorities that he was on his way to shoot a former employer a day after watching "The Dark Knight Rises," Maine state police said Monday.

Courtois had been stopped for speeding, and a police search of his car found an AK-47 assault weapon, four handguns, ammunition and news clippings about the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, authorities said.

Former graduate student James Holmes, 24, is accused of opening fire in a theater in the Denver suburb, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others.

Courtois was stopped on the Maine Turnpike, where he was reportedly driving 112 mph.

He said he had attended the Batman movie on Saturday, although police have not confirmed whether he actually saw the film.

"I guess we're taking everything at face value," state police Lt. Kevin Donovan said. "It's very scary."

Police searched Courtois' home later Sunday and found a machine gun, several other guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

"We don't know what his true intentions were," said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety. "Based on the arsenal that was confiscated, we brought in our counterparts from the FBI and ATF to assist with the investigation."

Courtois was charged with speeding and possession of a concealed weapon.

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Other alleged copycat incidents

In California

A man at a Sunday afternoon showing of the film in southern California was arrested after witnesses said he made threats and alluded to the Aurora shooting when the movie didn't start.

Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were called to a cinema complex in Norwalk after moviegoers said 52-year-old Clark Tabor shouted: "I should go off like in Colorado."

They said he then asked: "Does anybody have a gun?"

A security guard saw Tabor with a backpack on his knees in the second row, but deputies who searched the bag, the theater and its surrounding area did not find any weapon.

In Arizona

Separately, moviegoers in Sierra Visa, Ariz., panicked when a man who appeared intoxicated was confronted during a showing of the movie. The Cochise County Sheriff's office said it caused "mass hysteria" and about 50 people fled the theater.

Off-duty Border Patrol agents tackled Michael William Borboa, 27, who had a backpack with him, according to The Arizona Daily Star. Authorities said it contained an empty alcohol container and a half-empty moonshine bottle.

Borboa was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct, and threatening and intimidating.

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Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.