Man held in OSU shooting threat faces federal charge

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) – An ex-student accused of threatening a shooting at Oregon State University has now been charged with a federal crime.

The Corvallis Gazette-Times reports federal prosecutors charged Christopher Strahan with one count of interstate communication of a threat to injure the person of another. Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin in Eugene appointed a defense attorney to represent Strahan.

Authorities were alerted last month of threatening tweets posted by username “Hard Belly Dorm.” Detectives identified Strahan as the owner of the username and arrested him.

The case was initially filed in Benton County Circuit Court, with Strahan pleading not guilty.

With the matter now in federal court, the charges filed in Benton County were dismissed Tuesday.

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Information from: Gazette-Times, http://www.gtconnect.c