A former University of Minnesota engineering student was charged Wednesday with two felonies after he allegedly left a bag holding gasoline-soaked towels and smoke flares in the U's Coffman Memorial Union earlier this week.
The late-night discovery prompted the building's closure Monday as authorities conducted a detailed search.
Jason R. Johnson, 35, was charged with making terroristic threats and possessing an explosive or incendiary device. Johnson remains jailed in lieu of $100,00 bail ahead of a court appearance Thursday.
Workers in the building noticed the bag on the first floor of the student center and notified campus officials around 11:20 p.m. Sunday. The building houses the campus bookstore and a dining area.
By 4:30 a.m. Monday, officials who had been called to investigate the bag closed the building for a more thorough search. Police spent the day using bomb-sniffing dogs to go through the roughly 330,000-square-foot building and then gave the all-clear. Coffman reopened at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
U Police Chief Matthew Clark said soon after charges were filed that investigators were able to identify Johnson after an extensive review of surveillance video that showed Johnson in different changes of clothes with different bags as he moved throughout the building. Police recognized him from an earlier arrest and were able to contact him; he refused to surrender but was arrested Tuesday at a suburban motel.
Police are still investigating how Johnson entered the union when it was closed. Clark did not reveal a motive for Johnson's alleged actions, but he said that the incident was "isolated" and that students should feel safe on campus. "We have an extensive video camera system. … If you come onto our campus, we will be monitoring you 24 hours a day for your safety," Clark said.
Johnson began his studies at the U in the fall of 2006 and was enrolled continuously through the spring of 2010, a university spokesman said. He was pursuing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering but did not graduate, the spokesman added.
State records indicate that Johnson has a long criminal history which includes several burglary convictions.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482 Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495
