Former NFL All-Pro Safety Earl Thomas Arrested

Orange County Sheriff's Office

Photo: Jason Hall

Former All-Pro safety Earl Thomas was arrested over the weekend more than two weeks after a warrant was issued stemming from an alleged violation of a court protective order.

Thomas was detained at Spanky's Bar and Grill in Orange, Texas at around 8:35 p.m. Friday (May 13) after a patron spotted him and called police, the Orange Police Department confirmed to WFAA in Dallas.

An arrest warrant issued out of Austin on April 27 accused Thomas of sending threatening messages to his wife about herself and their children, having violated the protective order two or more times during a 12-month span, which is a third-degree felony offense, WFAA reports.

Thomas is only allowed to contact the woman through a co-parenting phone application in adherence with a May 2021 protective order, however, the woman said Thomas refused to download the application and has instead shown up unannounced to places she frequently visits, according to the police affidavit obtained by WFAA.

The woman said Thomas recently began sending threatening messages to her, which included a conversation on April 18 in which he claimed to have two handguns and wrote, "Waiting on hand in foot is why I'll kick ur a**," WFAA reports.

Thomas is also accused of threatening to poison their children and texting the woman, "I hope u in the car with him and the kids and yall drive off the road."

Thomas' wife was previously arrested in May 2020 after breaking into a rental home in East Austin and chasing him around the parking lot with a knife after finding him with another woman. Police said Thomas was carrying a pistol when they arrived at the scene, but later determined he'd taken it away from his wife after she entered the rental home.

Thomas' wife filed for divorce in November 2020.

The Austin American-Statesman reports Thomas, an Orange native and former University of Texas standout, owns a home in West Austin with his estranged wife and also spends time in his hometown.

Thomas is currently a free agent and hasn't appeared in an NFL game since 2019 during his lone season with the Baltimore Ravens.

The former University of Texas standout was selected by the Seattle Seahawks at No. 14 overall in the 2010 NFL Draft and was a member of the 'Legion of Boom' secondary during the team's most dominant run in franchise history, which included a victory in Super Bowl XLVIII and two NFC championships.

Thomas was a three-time First-team All-Pro (2012-14), a two-time Second-team All-Pro (2011, 2017), a seven-time Pro Bowl selection (2011-15, 2017, 2019) and a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.


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