Posted on 04/19/2007 8:20:51 AM PDT by 11th_VA
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - April 18, 2007 - A University of Colorado student pleaded not guilty Wednesday to making comments that classmates deemed sympathetic toward the gunman blamed for killing 32 students and himself at Virginia Tech, authorities said.
During a class discussion Tuesday of Monday's massacre at Virginia Tech, Max Karson "made comments about understanding how someone could kill 32 people," university police Cmdr. Brad Wiesley said.
Several witnesses told investigators Karson, who turns 22 on Thursday, said he was "angry about all kinds of things from the fluorescent light bulbs to the unpainted walls, and it made him angry enough to kill people," according to a police report. Witnesses "said they were afraid of him and afraid to come to class with him," Wiesley said.
Karson, of Denver, was arrested Tuesday on a misdemeanor charge of interfering with staff, faculty or students of an education institution.
His father, Michael Karson, told the Camera newspaper that the comments may have been misinterpreted and questioned whether his son's free speech rights had been violated.
"I would have hoped that state officials would know their First Amendment better than they seem to," he said.
University spokesman Bronson Hilliard said privacy laws prevented him from releasing personal information about students.
At Oregon's Lewis & Clark College, another student was detained by campus police Wednesday shortly before a vigil for the Virginia Tech victims when he was spotted wearing an ammunition belt. Portland police later determined that it was "a fashion accessory" made of spent ammunition, and said the man did not have a weapon. The belt was confiscated.
Al Gore Alert !!!
Probably most things that are said should not be. There was one such incident in Kenai yesterday. School lockdown.
Yep - my daughter said a similar incident occured in the library of her school - one student was trying to defend Cho, and it got really heated ...
He will not be stopped by working within normal channels. The movie "A Few Good Men" comes to mind.
Let the kids listen to him. Kids have little to offer after taking a social studies class in high school. So he heard about the First Amend. He probably thinks he discovered it: there on page 200 of his beginners textbook.
Someone should tell his daddy to stuff it!
This kid needs to work off some of his anger. May I suggest he start by painting the walls.
Confiscated? What right did they have to do that? I'd file with the real police for theft.
The question is did he make serious threats. But the report does not give us enough information to tell.
A disturbing pattern I've noticed with news stories. Enough information for people to argue about, but not enough good reporting to learn what really happened.
If he had been a deranged, feared, suicidal stalker of young women (like Cho) the campus police would have left him alone. Go figure.
Ann Coulter makes similar comments and Freepers fawn over her as a brilliant satirist.
It's a funny old world.
“said he was “angry about all kinds of things from the fluorescent light bulbs to the unpainted walls, and it made him angry enough to kill people,”
I can relate to that!
Heh. Flammable, but true.
This guy purposely says outragous things to get noticed. Here is an example from the past. http://www.westword.com/2006-11-23/news/to-the-max/
Thanks for the web address. I had read some of this guy’s stuff, but didn’t save the address.
That same kid was in trouble last year for making comments too....just google his name.
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