A convicted Virginia sex offender has admitted in court that he made online racist threats against Howard University students in 2015.
John Edgar Rust said that he left messages on sites like Reddit and 4chan, saying that any students “left at Howard University after 10 tomorrow will be the first to go…”
“After all, it’s not murder if they’re black,” he said according to the Washington Post.
Washington D.C. police and campus police stepped up security around the historically black college following the messages, which Rust sent from a Panera Bread restaurant in Northern Virginia. Howard students also held rallies to speak out against the racist messages.
“I’ll go out a hero knowing I made the world better,” he also wrote.
Police arrested Rust in October 2017, nearly two years after the threats were posted, NBC Washington reported.
Rust, a sex offender who was barred from using the Internet at the time he made the threats, claimed in court that he had mental health issues. His 2012 conviction stems from an incident involving a child, according to court records.
Rust is facing up to five years in prison. He sentencing is scheduled for July 20.