WWU student arrested in connection to threat posts $10k bail

A Western Washington University sophomore arrested in connection with a social media post that reportedly read “Let’s lynch her” posted $10,000 bail and was released from jail Tuesday, Dec. 1.

The post, on the social media platform Yik Yak, was one that WWU President Bruce Shepard cited as a reason he canceled classes Nov. 24 to protect students’ safety.

Tysen Dane Campbell, 19, was arrested Monday, Nov. 30, by Western Washington University Police on suspicion of malicious harassment. He made his first appearance in Whatcom County Superior Court Tuesday, and posted bail soon after.

Campbell will return to live with his family in Granite Falls, Wash. He is an honors student and a pole vaulter on the university’s track team. He has been suspended and barred from campus pending the outcome of legal proceedings and the university’s conduct process, according to the school.

University spokesman Paul Cocke confirmed Tuesday that Campbell was arrested in connection with the threatening post directed at Associated Students President Belina Seare.

It remains unclear what evidence the school or campus police have connecting Campbell to the Yik Yak post, or if any university officials have seen it. The university said campus police worked with Yik Yak to track down the source of the post.

No details about the arrest were stated in court Tuesday. WWU has declined to release further information on the case.

Shepard has said he did not see the post, which was deleted after about 30 seconds. Campbell’s private attorney, Bob Butler, said Tuesday that he has not seen the post, either.

“We haven’t seen the evidence,” Butler said. “My client does not have as much as a speeding ticket.”

Campbell has not been charged with a crime, but Whatcom County Deputy Prosecutor Jeffrey Sawyer said charges likely would be filed Wednesday, Dec. 2.

The court ordered Campbell not to contact Seare upon his release from jail. Butler said in court that his client “does not know that individual.”

Shepard has detailed other alarming social media posts directed at Seare and Abby Ramos, the vice president of diversity for the student government.

Another post, according to school officials, reads: “In protest, we should hang a bunch of nooses from trees like Viking used to kill Abbey monks.” A reply to that post reads, “Yeah, and we can all dress up in white cloaks and we can have black people play the monks!”

Many of the posts are thought to have been in response to an article in The Western Front, WWU’s student newspaper. That article stated some students, including Ramos, had discussed the idea of changing the school mascot from a Viking to a more inclusive figure.

Cocke, when asked Tuesday if the school was following up on any more people who made threats on social media, said “University Police are continuing their investigation on all potential crimes posted on social media targeting Western.”

He encouraged students, faculty and staff who feel threatened to contact university police, Bellingham police or, for immediate threats, to call 911.

“The prevalence of social media and the pervasiveness of the media means that we all become more aware of issues like this sooner and more often,” Cocke wrote in an email to The Bellingham Herald. “That should be an opportunity for a precedent of civilized discourse rather than unthoughtful response. It is a broad social issue, not just a Western issue.”

This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 4:51 PM with the headline "WWU student arrested in connection to threat posts $10k bail."