A 26-year-old man was charged for threatening the University of Wisconsin campus on social media, according to a police report.
The suspect, a UW student, was arrested last Friday and was taken into custody around 9 a.m. without incident before being taken to Dane County Jail, Madison Police Department Public Information Officer Stephanie Fryer said in an interview.
Fryer talked further about the arrest, saying that it was a result of a threat on Yik Yak, a social media platform, that alluded to bringing weapons to campus.
Hansen has been charged with one felony count of terroristic threats and appeared in court Tuesday, Fryer said. He was given a signature bond under the terms that Hansen cannot possess a weapon and cannot be on UW’s campus.
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Fryer said that MPD takes every threat seriously, especially after the recent shooting at Michigan State University.
“We just watched a very scary and traumatizing incident on Michigan State’s campus — it’s a reminder and reason why we take threats seriously because we can’t [immediately] guarantee what’s not credible and what is credible,” Fryer said. “Every threat, the minute we get it, is treated as credible until we can investigate further.”
Fryer said this threat was brought to MPD’s attention because the Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified that a threat was made, and they passed that on to MPD. The UW Police Department is also collaborating with the investigation.
In addition to learning about threats as they are reported, MPD also monitors events and social platforms through their Criminal Intelligence Section.
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Fryer emphasized that people should be cautious and aware of what they post online and urged people to contact 911 or report to people they trust if they see something that could impact public safety, even if it could just be a joke.
“Even if this was supposed to be a joke, jokes can have consequences,” Fryer said. “So, we really just ask the public to be mindful about what they post on social media. If you see something alarming, contact us, report it to someone you trust if you’re [a] younger person — these types of things could lead to a very scary situation, which is why we want to be notified so we can investigate them to see if they’re credible or not.”
