In this day and age, terrorism is NOT taken lightly. And threats of terrorism, which are basically defined as threatening to commit any violent crime against another person with the intent to cause fear, or terrorize, them, is treated as a very serious issue indeed. Even if the person making the threat had no intention of following through with it.
Which is why 19-year-old MSU student Matthew Michael Mullen of Northbrook, Illinois was bailed out of the Ingham County Jail recently on a $10,000 cash bond. Mullen is facing a single charge of making a false report or threat of terrorism, which is a felony under Michigan law.
Apparently Mullen posted a statement on the social media site Yik Yak that he intended to shoot up a school. Because Yik Yak is set up to allow people to post messages anonymously that are seen by other users located in your vicinity, it was not immediately known who had made the threat. But it was seen by another Yik Yak user who then notified MSU’s campus police.
Mullen failed to identify which school he wanted to terrorize
However, because Mullen had failed to identify which school he intended to terrorize, all schools in the East Lansing and Williamston school districts, along with any other schools in areas adjacent to MSU’s campus, were placed on lockdown until the threat could be assessed.
Yik Yak officials were contacted by the MSU Police Computer Forensic Unit, and they released sufficient information for the origin of the post to be tracked back to Akers Hall in MSU’s East neighborhood.
Police say that Mullen was still in Akers Hall when they arrived, and he was arrested without putting up any kind of fight. In addition, there were no weapons found on his person at the time of the arrest. After Mullen’s arrest, area schools were notified, and the lockdown, or “secure in place” order, was lifted.
No further information has been issued yet about Mullen’s scheduled arraignment date, but if he is officially charged and convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison, or a possible fine of up to $20,000.00, or both.