In 2015, a post on the website 4chan threatened to murder students at Howard University. Let’s take several factors into account: the history of gun violence on college campuses, domestic terrorism & racial tension currently in America.
TWO WHOLE YEARS later police have “cracked” the case and gotten around to finding the perpetrator. Here are the details.
An Alexandria, Virginia, man has been arrested nearly two years after police say he threatened to murder African Americans at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
John Edgar Rust, 24, has been charged and faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison if he’s convicted, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said on Wednesday. Rust is a previously convicted felon, the office said. According to the Virginia sex offender registry, Rust was convicted of indecent liberties with child by custodian and aggravated sexual battery in 2012.On Nov. 11, 2015, the threat was posted on the website 4Chan, which allows users to post anonymously. The post spewed racial slurs and threatened to murder African Americans. According to an FBI affidavit, Rust concluded the threat by saying “After all, it’s not murder if they’re black.”
The affidavit states investigators traced the threat to a Panera restaurant in Alexandria. Agents then determined Rust’s computer was connected to the restaurant’s Wi-Fi network, and that he made a restaurant purchase that day on his credit card.
He wasn’t on an encrypted network at home, he was on the public Wi-Fi at Panera. The time frame is inexcusable given the nature of the threat. Even more lackluster is the maximum sentence of 5 years from a convicted felon.
Flip the page for video of the online threat posed to students in 2015