A 19-year-old Miami University student was arrested Nov. 2 after an Oct. 28 Yik Yak post allegedly threatened a Students for Life of America pro‑life display in the Armstrong Student Center, Students for Life of America told Fox News Digital.
Students for Life said screenshots of the Yik Yak post appear to show a user in the app’s “Miami Ohio” group asking, “How many dining dollars to Kirk the anti abortion table in Armstrong,” an apparent reference to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, according to a press release shared with Fox News Digital.
The organization said the student was charged with one felony count of making a terroristic threat and multiple misdemeanors, including inducing panic, aggravated menacing and telecommunications harassment. The incident was also referred to the FBI, Students for Life said.
Grace Kimzey, Ohio regional coordinator for Students for Life of America, told Fox News Digital the group was tabling inside the Armstrong Student Center when a student saw the post and that she immediately called the Miami University Police Department to keep students safe. “We were in the Armstrong Student Center inside,” Kimzey said.
A Miami University spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the university cannot confirm if a student is being disciplined or is currently in the disciplinary process.” The spokesperson added that “Every Miami student is afforded their due process rights through our Code of Student Conduct” and that reports of possible policy or law violations are handled through the Office of Community Standards and campus and local law enforcement.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, told Fox News Digital that the climate for free speech on campuses “has significantly deteriorated in recent years.” Hawkins described other recent incidents in remarks included in the Fox News Digital report.
Fox News Digital reported that it reached out to the Miami University Police Department and the Butler County Jail for comment.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
