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Crime, Law and Justice
MPR News Staff

U of M issues all-clear for Twin Cities campus; suspect in social media threats arrested

A large university sign
A sign for the University of Minnesota on the West Bank in Minneapolis is pictured on Sept. 22, 2023.
Ben Hovland | MPR News 2023

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Updated: 8 p.m.

University of Minnesota officials issued an all-clear for the Twin Cities campus on Thursday afternoon, after a man suspected of posting social media threats earlier in the day was located in western Minnesota.

On Thursday morning, the U of M Twin Cities had asked people to stay away from campus, after a 41-year-old man allegedly posted online threats “about driving from his rural Minnesota home to the Twin Cities campus to commit violence,” university officials reported in an update later in the day.

The West Central Tribune reported that the suspect is a former mayor of Watson, in Chippewa County, with a lengthy criminal record; he was previously civilly committed. MPR News is not naming the man because he has not been charged in connection with the threats.

Watson is about 125 miles west of the U of M Twin Cities campus.

The university said that after the threats were first reported early Thursday, authorities in Chippewa County “could not confirm the suspect’s location in the initial hours of the investigation. Unable to locate a suspect, and based on the specific threats, the University issued a SAFE-U alert.”

In a series of alerts through the morning, the university said the U of M Police Department and other agencies had extra officers on campus, and they asked “all employees who are deemed non-essential or non-critical … to work from home after checking in with their supervisor.”

Students had not yet returned to classes, which start next week.

The university reported just after 1 p.m. that the man had been located and “contained” in western Minnesota’s Chippewa County.

About an hour later, the university said authorities had located the man in his home in Watson and were “working to apprehend him there.” Later in the day, the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office said the man was safely apprehended, without further incident.

”Thankfully, this threat proved to not be credible and the suspect did not travel to campus. The Twin Cities campus will resume full operations this afternoon,” the university said in an update sent just after 2 p.m. “We are deeply grateful to the many law enforcement partners who contributed to today’s investigation and continue to work this case, starting with the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office, which alerted us to this threat and is leading ongoing efforts to apprehend the suspect.”

The West Central Tribune also reported that at least three western Minnesota school districts took extra safety measures on Thursday because of what the man allegedly posted on social media, though no threats were directed at those schools.