Ex-U of M Student Pleads Guilty in Student Union Incident

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A former University of Minnesota student has pleaded guilty to making terroristic threats for an incident last summer that shut down the main student union building on the Minneapolis campus.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 21 for 35-year-old Jason Robert Johnson, of Minneapolis.

Prosecutors say Johnson left a bag containing smoke flares, towels soaked in gasoline and a lighter inside Coffman Memorial Union in August. Police said at the time that the bag could have caused a large fire if Johnson had used the lighter to ignite the flares.

The complaint said Johnson made suicidal comments to police before his arrest, and that he has an extensive criminal record that includes convictions for property damage, receiving stolen property, burglary and robbery.

Johnson was enrolled at the university from 2006-2010.