College student arrested for saying she would detonate nuclear reactor if school lost football game

By James On Sep 22, 2022

A student at the University of Utah was taken into custody on Wednesday after allegedly threatening to detonate a nuclear reactor located in one of the campus’s science buildings — if the school’s soccer team didn’t win last week.

The 21-year-old female suspect, identified as Meredith Miller, was admitted to the Salt Lake County Jail Wednesday for the reported crime, on charges of constituting a terrorist threat.

The bizarre bomb threat came Saturday ahead of No. 13 Utes’ home game against San Diego State, where Utah was a firm favorite in 2000.

However, Miller still seemed wary that her team might not take home a win, and decided to take matters into her own hands – albeit in an unwise way.

On the eve of the game, according to police, Miller posted “violence threats” on Yik Yak – a community billboard app where users can communicate anonymously with others within a five-mile radius.

Those threats, police said, saw the student claim she would “detonate and cause mass destruction the nuclear reactor located at the University of Utah.”

A student at the University of Utah was taken into custody Wednesday after she allegedly threatened to detonate a nuclear reactor located in one of the campus’s science buildings — if the school’s soccer team played against the state last week. San Diego would not win (pictured)

Four days later, the university police picked up Miller and listed her as a potential domestic terrorist.

University professors have since said that the small, experimental reactor only generates enough power to heat the thousands of gallons of water it holds — and probably shouldn’t cause much alarm.

Plus, Utah would definitely win the game by beating the Aztecs 35-7 – making Miller’s ill-advised insurance policy now seem a bit over the top.

Nevertheless, when police announced the arrest on Wednesday, police said the student had knowledge of the nuclear reactor, saying in a statement that Miller “knows where the reactor is located and goes to class in the same building where the reactor is located.” reactor is housed’.

Miller has since maintained that the post was a joke — to which the school responded Thursday in a statement saying that despite being a joke, the school “has a zero-tolerance policy for these kinds of threats.”

University police took the threat seriously and tracked down Meredith Miller and listed her as a potential domestic terrorist for the threat, which she posted on the community chat app YikYak

The school police also noted that the school’s nuclear reactor is ‘secure and alarmed’, adding that the police also have ‘unique protocols’ [in place] for managing a breach of the facility.”

Miller, meanwhile, has been hit with a second-degree felony as a result of her actions — which could carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison, and a minimum of one.

The reactor in question is housed in the university’s Merrill Engineering Building, where it is used for teaching and research purposes.

Despite emitting nuclear energy, the radiation levels of the device – which was built in 1975 – are carefully monitored, and are low enough where it is not dangerous to stand near the reactor, professors say.

That said, it’s not immediately clear whether Miller had any knowledge of the reactor’s operation. Prison records show she was admitted to the Salt Lake County Jail at 12:14 a.m. PT on Wednesday. She is no longer mentioned among other inmates.

Utah would definitely win the game, beating the Aztecs 35-7, with the student’s insurance policy now looking slightly over the top

SurprisinglyThis isn’t the first time this year that a University of Utah student has made a bomb threat at the school in Salt Lake City.

Just last month, a 19-year-old was arrested for the exact same crime after he also used the Yik Yak app to voice a terror threat — he said he would detonate an explosive device in the school’s Spencer Fox Eccles Business Building. .

In that case, the student was also tracked down based on his position and treated as a terrorist. He also claimed the threat was intended “as a joke” and that he had “no intention” of carrying it out.

Police continue to investigate both incidents.