Suspect arrested after threat against Natalie Portman's 'Lady in the Lake' crew

Authorities have made an arrest in connection to a violent threat of extortion reported by the crew of Natalie Portman's Apple miniseries Lady in the Lake.

The Baltimore Police Department confirms to EW that Keith L. Brown, a local street vendor of Pikesville, Md., "was upset that he had not been compensated by the production for lost business, since he could not operate his clothing business while the crew was filming at that location."

Brown informed detectives that he had spoken with a crew member and a security manager for the miniseries and was awaiting paperwork to receive compensation. Brown was arrested on Monday on a narcotics charge.

Detectives are still in the process of interviewing additional individuals. The investigation is considered open and on-going.

According to the arrest report for Brown, detectives investigated an incident that occurred on Friday. A driver working on Lady in the Lake said he was approached by two men at the 200 block of Park Avenue in Baltimore, where Lady in the Lake was filming. The cast and most of the crew had not arrived on set by this time.

The driver alleges one of the perpetrators brandished a gun and said these men demanded $50,000 in order for the production to keep filming at this site.

Production on Lady in the Lake was temporarily paused as a precaution. "The safety and security of our crew, cast and all who work across our productions is our highest priority, and we are thankful no one was injured," reads a previous statement from an Endeavor spokesperson. "Production will resume with increased security measures going forward."

Portman and Obi-Wan Kenobi actress Moses Ingram star in Lady in the Lake, which is based on author Laura Lippman's New York Times best-seller of the same name.

Set in Baltimore during the 1960s, the miniseries tells of Maddie Schwartz (Portman), who becomes inspired by an unsolved murder to reinvent her life from housewife into to investigative journalist. This leads her to meet Cleo Sherwood (Ingram), described as "a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs, and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore's Black progressive agenda."

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