President Barack Obama's Niece Subject of Gun Threat Prior to Princeton Basketball Game

A threat to President Barack Obama’s niece led to heightened security at Monday night’s NCAA tournament game between Princeton University and the University of Maryland, according to published reports.

The University of Maryland received a phone message threatening the life of freshman forward Leslie Robinson, the daughter of First Lady Michelle Obama’s brother, Craig, according to ESPN.

The threat was unfounded.

The phone call came from a woman who left an eight-minute message stating that a man with a gun was driving around the University of Maryland’s campus, where the Princeton University women’s basketball team played both its tournament games, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The heightened security consisted of undercover police officers sitting near the bench and Secret Service already in attendance due to the presence of Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

The president and the first lady were not in attendance. The president attended Princeton’s first round win over the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday. Robinson didn’t play in either game.

Princeton fell to Maryland, 85-70, suffering its first loss of the season and getting knocked out of the NCAA tournament.

After the game, Princeton coach Courtney Banghart told reporters “It’s incredibly disappointing that the first question we get after being 31-1 [and] in the NCAA tournament is about a freak. ... Keep the freaks out of our gym.”