CEDAR CITY, Utah — A man who was an emergency hire at Southern Utah University now has a warrant issued for his arrest on charges of terrorism.
Steven Boggs was charged with "threat of terrorism use of weapon" on December 29 by Iron County prosecutors after a series of events that began on December 10, when he requested his life insurance payout information from the SUU human resources department and said he needed help.
On December 11, he sent a detailed email to SUU Dean of the College of Performing and Visual Arts Shauna Mendini complaining about Jeffrey Hanson, the Art and Design Department Chair at SUU who hired him, and alleged that the stress of his new job had led to family issues and his arrest on domestic violence charges.
He also alleged that his arrest was because of an "incarceration for profit" criminal justice system, and that his lawyer probably shared his fee with the judge.
But he went on to claim that because Hanson made him suicidal, "I might just visit him in his office with a 40 caliber M&P Smith &Wesson, put the gun to my chin and show him how violent and beautiful it is at point blank when that trigger is pulled . .. and splattermyself (sic) all over himself, his office, exploding my biology across his books and hanging art .. . Now that is truly an act of Art."
He also talks about killing himself in front of students while school is in session, and the "shock and horror" they would feel as witnesses, and at one point threatens to kill students before stating he could not do so because they were innocent.
Baggs closed this communication with a plea: Please get me some help.
In calls to members of the SUU community, during one in which he claimed he was in the library, he alleged police corruption, threatened suicide, and made threats against Hanson and others, claiming he had their addresses and "had a list, was checking it twice, going to check who was naughty or nice."
In a December 12 call to the HR department at SUU, the charging documents state that "Baggs likened himself to Rambo and that the police had pushed him and now he will push back like Rambo. At this point, Baggs demanded they put him on tenure-track, pay for his doctorate degree, and fire the chairman."
Law enforcement traced his cell phone to Oregon and he was flagged as being in Hawaii and trying to arrange a flight to Japan, but his current location is unknown.
Once arrested, the court stated that no bail be granted as he is a danger to the community and a flight risk.
