Feds charge Alaska man with Twitter threats to bomb Lafayette College

Federal authorities have charged an Anchorage, Alaska, man with threatening to set off pipe bombs at Lafayette College in Easton, college president Alison Byerly said in a statement Saturday.

The man’s name was not released, but Byerly said the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI would provide more details about the investigation at a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the college.

On May 5, someone claiming to be a Lafayette student posted pictures of weapons on a Twitter account, and said he had plans to set off pipe bombs on the college’s Easton campus. The threat frightened students and set the college community on edge as law enforcement officials conducted a room-by-room search of the campus. In the end, the search turned up nothing.

Byerly, in her statement to the college community on Saturday, thanked law enforcement officials for their work on the investigation that led to the man’s arrest. “I want to express our immense gratitude to all of the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including our own Department of Public Safety, for their diligence in pursuing this investigation and identifying a suspect,” she wrote.

"I also want to thank the Lafayette community – students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni – for supporting one another during a difficult time last May, " she continued, "and for helping the College return to a sense of normalcy as quickly as possible once the FBI had determined that the threat was not credible.

Byerly said she would take part in the Wednesday news conference at which U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain and FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Harpster are expected to provide more information about the arrest.