Posted on 08/10/2022 11:41:42 AM PDT by nickcarraway
As a discharged U.S. Navy veteran, Gavin Casdorph said he knew better than to invoke the name of ISIS to terrorize an American college.
But that’s exactly what the 22-year-old Anchorage, Alaska, man did when he used a fake Twitter account to create a bomb scare at Lafayette College in Easton.
Casdorph was sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison Wednesday for the May 8, 2018, bomb scare and for firebombing a car in Canada on Feb. 23, 2018. He appeared at the federal courthouse in Easton.
Casdorph apologized for “creating a very real and very scary experience” at Lafayette, forcing a campus lockdown and forcing the relocation of the graduation ceremony.
He created a fake Twitter account in the name of “Jafar Saleem (Brendan),” a made-up Lafayette student who said he embraced Allah and ISIS and wanted revenge against his enemies.
His tweet warned that as students tried to evacuate, “they’ll be playing right into my plan. I have set up several pipe bombs, pressure cookers and nail bombs around the campus and I plan to inflict the most damage possible.”
Court records say the bomb threat resulted from an online gaming argument.
Defense attorney Caroline Cinquanto said Casdorph was manipulated into blowing up the car by a friend. The friend wanted to get revenge against his ex-girlfriend, Canadian resident Sophia Moore, because she was dating someone new. Moore, Casdorph and the jealous ex all met by playing video games online.
Casdoprh admitted he used gasoline and two propane bottles to firebomb the car belonging to Moore’s new boyfriend. A truck belonging to the boyfriend’s parents was also damaged, Moore said.
Canadian authorities agreed not to prosecute Casdorph for the car bombing after American authorities agreed to tack four years in prison onto the sentence for the Lafayette case. Only 15 months of his total sentence covers his conduct at Lafayette.
Moore testified her life was turned upside down when the cars exploded early in the morning outside her then-partner’s home.
“The incident is forever etched on my brain,” Moore said during her often-tearful testimony. She was 17 at the time and recalled being in shock and unable to write a statement for police that day.
“It felt like what I imagine being in Afghanistan would be like,” she said.
Post-traumatic stress led to the breakup of her relationship and the loss of her job. She couldn’t sleep. She needed to keep her window open at night so she could be on the lookout for potential threats. She couldn’t bring herself to return to her partner’s home, she said.
“No matter how many times I tried, I couldn’t do it,” she said.
U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith said Casdorph suffers from several mental illnesses. Cinquanto said serious abuse inflicted on Casdorph as an adolescent strongly contributed to his problems later in life. He had no criminal history other than the bomb hoax and car bombings and got glowing references from friends and family.
Casdorph cried after hearing Moore’s testimony.
“I know how emotional pain feels. Knowing now I caused the same thing to be done to somebody else, it really does hurt me and I am so sorry,” he said.
He apologized for the bomb hoax. He acknowledged he had been offered help for his mental health problems but failed to take advantage of it. Casdorph has spent almost four years in prison already and admitted he was grateful it allowed him to gain perspective on where his life went wrong.
“Four years of incarceration has given me incredible insight,” Casdorph said.
Cinquanto asked the judge to limit the Lafayette portion of the sentence to three months and allow Casdorph to head into an inpatient treatment program for his mental health needs after that.
Smith said that sentence would be too lenient given the severity of the crime. Federal guidelines called for 12 to 18 months for the fake bomb threat.
“I have to tell you I find the guidelines shockingly low given the seriousness of the offense,” Smith said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan LaBar agreed.
“Twelve to 18 months, it is the law. I come before the court bound by the law,” LaBar said.
Smith settled on 15 months for the bomb hoax in part due to Moore’s testimony. Moore believes Casdorph was manipulated into blowing up the car.
She agreed Casdorph didn’t deserve to go to prison in Canada where he would be kept far away from his family. She wants Casdorph to turn his life around despite the terror his actions caused her, she said.
“I wish you the very best,” she said through tears. “I may be naive but I hope that everything you said is true. I hope for the very best for you because everyone deserves it. I just appreciate being able to talk to you today.”
Online gaming rage
????
It's GOOD to have a "flexible" Criminal Jesters Systum.
This comes in handy when you're making up charges against former Presidents and their families.
Can they tack on some Jan 6th charge? You know, like with “hate” charges.
Online gamers have girlfriends?
He should have gotten life in prison for this stunt. Terrorizing a whole college and blowing up cars should have a serious consequence.
He deserved what he got and more!
Not guilty
I didn’t see a picture. White Antifa type I’m guessing.
Especially because she’s a model posing for the photo and notva gamer at all.
Old fashioned jealousy.
It’s hard to believe anyone could be so naive as to be suckered into this mess.
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