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Press Release

Harvard Student Charged With Making Hoax Bomb Threat

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts
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BOSTON – Eldo Kim, 21, of Allston has been charged in an Information in U.S. District Court in Boston with e-mailing several bomb threats to offices associated with Harvard University, including the Harvard University Police Department and the Harvard Crimson, the student-run daily newspaper.

Kim was previously charged by complaint and has been under pretrial supervision since his arrest. It is alleged that on Dec. 16, 2013, at approximately 8:30 a.m., the Harvard University Police Department, two officials of Harvard University, and the president of the Harvard Crimson, received identical e-mail messages bearing a subject line that read “bombs placed around campus.” The bomb threats specified four buildings on the Harvard campus – the Science Center, Sever Hall, Emerson Hall, and Thayer Hall.

Federal agencies, along with the Harvard University Police, Cambridge Police, Boston Police and Massachusetts State Police Departments, along with numerous other law enforcement and first responders, immediately went to the vicinity of the buildings specified in the e-mail messages. In addition, each of the Harvard buildings named in the threatening e-mails was immediately evacuated. Over the course of the next several hours, bomb technicians and hazardous materials officers conducted thorough sweeps of each of the four buildings. Law enforcement personnel ultimately concluded that no explosive devices had been placed in any of the four buildings.

In addition to filing the Information, the government requested that the court defer the prosecution for 18 months while Kim completes a pretrial diversion program, in which the Probation Department and Pretrial Services Office will supervise Kim and enforce various conditions, including home confinement for four months, payment of restitution to agencies that responded to Kim’s bomb hoax, and 750 hours of community service. Kim has also agreed to make a public apology.

If the court agrees to defer prosecution, and Kim successfully abides by all the terms of pretrial diversion, the government will dismiss the Information in 18 months. If Kim fails to abide by the conditions of the pretrial diversion program or fails to complete it successfully, the government will not dismiss the Information and the criminal prosecution will proceed.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Capin.

Updated December 15, 2014