Another terrorist threat charge filed against Jefferson City man

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man charged in August with first-degree making a terrorist threat is accused of repeating the offense on Nov. 11.

Brian Groner, 26, is accused of opening a Bank of America account using the email address "thenextmassshooter@gmail.com."

Groner denied to investigators that he created a bank account using that address.

The probable cause statement said an employee of Merrill, a Bank of America subsidiary, alerted his superiors upon sending Groner a welcome email and noticing the email address that he used to respond.

The email address echoes posts authorities said they found on Groner's Facebook page which introduced him as "your next mass shooter," and threatened that "Columbine won't have [explitive] on me."

Groner was later charged with first-degree making a terrorist threat because his statements reached 10 or more victims and prosecutors believed that there was a high likelihood that he would follow through on his threat.

Groner posted a $200 bond on the initial charge in late October. He was arrested again Thursday and is being held without bond.

ABC 17 News contacted Google for a comment on this story and on the company's email address policy. The inquiry did not receive an immediate response.

The Cole County Prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to a request for additional information on the criminal charge.

Missouri Public Safety spokesperson Mike O'Connell said the department did not have any anti-terrorism experts who would be able to comment about how online threats are handled.

The Revised Statutes of Missouri outlines the charge of first degree making a terrorist threat in Chapter 574.

A person commits the offense of making a terrorist threat in the first degree if such person, with the purpose of frightening ten or more people or causing the evacuation, quarantine or closure of any portion of a building, inhabitable structure, place of assembly or facility of transportation, knowingly:

• Communicates an express or implied threat to cause an incident or condition involving danger to life; or
• Communicates a false report of an incident or condition involving danger to life; or
• Causes a false belief or fear that an incident has occurred or that a condition exists involving danger to life.