UPDATE:
The 18-year-old student originally charged was found not culpable for this incident. According to court documents, he admitted to drafting the post in his account but did not intend to post it. He showed the draft to Spicer, who then posted it after the teen was otherwise occupied.
The courts quashed his bind-over to the Circuit Court in August of 2020, finding insufficient evidence he intended to publish the post and that Spicer used his account for that reason on her own.
He was never tried but did serve a 1-year suspension from Michigan State University before returning to the university and graduating from the engineering program with a 4.0 GPA.
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EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Authorities have accused two Michigan State University students of making a false terror threat against the school’s president.
The Lansing State Journal reports Wednesday that 20-year-old Jennifer Spicer and an 18-year-old student have been charged with making a false report or threat of terrorism and using a computer to commit a crime. Officials say the accusations stem from a post on the social media service Reddit.
The teen defendant's attorney, Chris Wickman says his client posted it as a joke and deleted it once he realized it was being taken seriously. He adds the defendant did not intend harm.
The computer science students were released Tuesday on $10,000 bonds. A judge ordered no contact with President Samuel Stanley Jr., and they are banned from campus.
Each faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
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**Editor's Note: As part of our efforts to equitably and accurately cover the historical record of Michigan in real time, FOX 17 has investigated the details of this incident currently available. Due to the findings described in the above update, FOX 17 has removed the name of the man cleared from wrongdoing from public access via properties owned by WXMI FOX 17 Grand Rapids.
This determination is neither influenced by nor is intended to influence the reporting practices of press and media outlets outside WXMI FOX 17 Grand Rapids including those outside our station yet within our parent company, The E.W. Scripps Company.
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