A 24-year-old Illinois man is suspected of making a series of threats on Twitter toward Colorado State University-Pueblo’s campus.
The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office said it tracked the threats to Dalton Hollingsworth, of Normal, Ill. Hollingsworth admitted to posting statements against the university, telling investigators he made them after watching a segment on ESPN featuring a lawsuit involving a former CSU-Pueblo student-athlete, authorities say.
Hollingsworth does not have any connection to CSU-Pueblo, according to the county sheriff’s office. Felony criminal charges against Hollingsworth are pending in Illinois.
“The investigation into the incident is ongoing,” the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office said.
Students and staff were never in danger, officials said.
“This was great police work on the part of our deputies,” Sheriff Kirk Taylor said in a statement. “They were able to track down the suspect, and worked jointly with law enforcement in Illinois to quickly resolve the situation. The safety of the students, faculty, staff and administrators at CSU-Pueblo is something we take seriously.”
While authorities did not specify what lawsuit Hollingsworth allegedly referred to, in April a CSU-Pueblo student and the U.S. Department of Education claiming sexual discrimination after he was sanctioned for a sexual act that he and his girlfriend insist was consensual sex.
CSU sophomore Grant Neal claims in the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Denver that the reason his civil rights were violated and that he was punished was only because of stereotypes about male athletes.
