Man pleads guilty to making threats against MU

The man accused of making online threats amid protests at Mizzou last fall has pleaded guilty.

Hunter Park was set to stand trial in May for making a terrorist threat. Park is a University of Missouri-Rolla student. Investigators say he posted threats anonymously on Yik-Yak, a chat app that allows for anonymous posting.

Concerns over the threats prompted some businesses near campus to close for a day. The threats included language reminiscent of a deadly shooting at a college in southwest Oregon, which happened a month prior.

Boone County Assistant Prosecutor Brouck Jacobs told ABC 17 News he will recommend a three-year prison sentence for Park. The 19-year-old, who has no prior criminal record, will be sentenced by Judge Kevin Crane on June 16. Jacobs said he also opposed probation for Park.

“The facts of the case, I don’t think merit probation,” Jacobs said.

University of Missouri Police traveled to Rolla early on November 11 to investigate posts on Yik Yak that implied shooting black students on Mizzou’s campus, a day after protests over a lack of diversity and response to racially-charged incidents on MU’s campus became national news. Park agreed with the officers’ characterization of the posts as “saber-rattling,” according to the probable cause statement, which included shooting “every black person I see.” Investigators also questioned him about another posts similarity to things written by Christopher Harper-Mercer, the suspected shooter at Umpqua Community College on October 1, 2015, in which Park said he had a “deep interest” in the topic.

Park’s attorney, Jeff Hilbrenner, did not return ABC 17 News’ calls Monday afternoon.