MARQUETTE, MI-- Marquette County Chief Prosecuting Attorney Matt Wiese has sent a letter to schools and parents within the county stating his office will take all threats made against area schools on social
media or otherwise very seriously.
Wiese released the contents of the letter on Friday:
March 22, 2018
Dear Parents:
Recent tragic events involving school shootings have heightened all of our awareness. They have especially impacted our students, families, and schools. When students learn of these events on television or on social media, it is natural for them to worry about their own schools and their own safety. Unfortunately, some students see these tragedies as an open opportunity to gain notoriety and make threats against their schools, teachers, and classmates.
We as a nation have watched more than one of these awful tragedies unfold within the last couple months. In the recent months we have received multiple reports from law enforcement agencies of students using social media and other means to make threats against our schools.
Many of these threats turned out to be made by students who claim they were joking or playing a prank. I want to be very clear: these threats are not jokes, they are crimes. The Marquette County Prosecutor’s Office will hold individuals accountable who commit these crimes. This can include felony charges of false, or actual, threats of terrorism – both of which are felonies with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
I urge you to talk to your children about the appropriate use of social media, and the lasting consequences of making threats against our schools. Please stress that there is nothing humorous about threatening to shoot up a school, and there is no such thing as a joke involving the threat of mass murder.
All threats will continue to be taken seriously. By working together, we can provide our children with the safe schools they deserve.
Sincerely,
Matthew J. Wiese, Marquette County
Prosecuting Attorney
