Chicago Man Charged with Posting Online Threat of Gun Violence at University of Chicago

CHICAGO — A Chicago man was arrested today for allegedly threatening to murder students and staff at the University of Chicago.

JABARI R. DEAN, 21, of Chicago, is charged with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.  He is scheduled to make an initial appearance today at 3:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox.

Dean was arrested without incident this morning.  In a Thanksgiving weekend posting on a social media website, Dean stated that he would execute approximately sixteen students or staff members on the campus quad of the University of Chicago on Nov. 30, 2015, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.   Dean also stated in the posting that he would die “killing any number of white policemen that I can in the process,” according to the complaint.

Federal authorities identified Dean and confronted him prior to the 10:00 a.m. deadline referenced in the threat.

The arrest and charge were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chicago Police Superintendent Garry F. McCarthy; and the University of Chicago Police Department.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tobara S. Richardson and Bethany Biesenthal.