Minor Responsible For Dozens Of Racist Threats To HBCUs, FBI Says

An investigation linked the boy to bomb threats against historically Black colleges and universities earlier this year, according to authorities.
Bomb threats were made against multiple historically Black colleges and universities earlier this year, including Howard University.
Bomb threats were made against multiple historically Black colleges and universities earlier this year, including Howard University.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

A lone juvenile is allegedly responsible for making dozens of bomb threats to historically Black colleges and universities across the country earlier this year, the FBI said Tuesday.

The child, who was not identified because of his age, is too young to face federal hate crime charges, but the FBI said it is assisting state prosecutors with charges unrelated to the specific threats.

An investigation linked the boy to more than 50 racially-motivated threats of violence made to HBCUs, houses of worship, faith-based organizations and academic institutions between Jan. 4 and Feb. 1 of this year, authorities said.

Initially, the FBI had said that it had identified several minors who were believed to be responsible for the threats before pinpointing them to the one juvenile.

“This individual is under restrictions and monitoring of his online activities,” the agency said in a statement.

HBCUs across the country were temporarily closed or classes were moved online in response to the bomb threats, which happened around Black History Month. No devices were found at the institutions that were threatened.

The FBI said it is continuing to investigate hundreds of separate threats made to colleges, high schools and HBCUs made between Feb. 8 and March 2 and then again starting in June. These threats appear to have originated overseas, authorities said.

“The FBI will not tolerate anyone trying to instill fear in any community, especially one that has experienced violence and threats of violence historically,” the agency said. “The FBI will continue to vigorously pursue anyone responsible for these ongoing threats with help from our law enforcement partners at the federal, state, and local levels.”

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