How area law enforcement handles social media threats

As social media’s place in everyday life continues to grow, it has become a place where individuals have made threats toward schools, institutions, or individuals.

On Oct. 9 in Tiffin, Iowa, 18-year-old Jameson Cummings was charged with threat of terrorism after allegedly making a threat toward the Clear Creek-Amana School District on a social media site.

According to a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency report analyzing school safety, in 2022, school districts across the US reported closing more frequently due to social media threats than for COVID-19 outbreaks.When these threats are identified, law enforcement and safety teams work quickly to reduce the chance of violence.

Eli Hotchkin , director of the University of Iowa’s Threat Assessment Team, said the team works to communicate with the community about potential threats, then collaborates with law enforcement to mitigate any potential violence.

“All our reports are community driven,” he said. “If someone sees something on social media, they’ll report it to our team.”

After they receive a report of a threat, members of the Threat Assessment Team will interview the person reporting it, as well as look at the context of the threat to determine next steps. Hotchkin said if the threat requires immediate action, it will quickly be sent to the police.

Hotchkin said threats are considered real until they are determined to be false. After gathering more information, the threat will either be deemed credible or not.

“We treat every threat as real until we determine that it’s not,” he said.

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The Iowa City Police Department follows a similar protocol when determining the credibility of threats.

In an email statement to The Daily Iowan , Lee Hermiston , public information officer for ICPD, said the police department acts as though all threats are real until they are proved not to be.

“All reports are taken seriously until which time they have been determined to not be credible,” the statement read.

Iowa City police hear about threats through law enforcement partners, the Iowa City school district, or members of the community. Though they treat every threat as credible, Hermiston wrote most of the threats they encounter are false and intended to cause disruption.

While threats made on social media are often aimed at schools or other institutions, threats on social media also affect individuals.

Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith said people can feel called out or targeted by posts that may seem broad.

“There are times when people are making threats in a way that is definitely directed toward an individual, but they’re doing it in a more generic post,” she said.

Additionally, social media is used to harm others in cases of domestic violence. Zimmermann Smith said it can become a strategy to keep domestic violence victims under control of their abuser.

“Offenders often use social media to manipulate and put pressure on their victims,” she said.

Zimmermann Smith said she thinks as social media use increases, people use it as a way to manipulate others.

“It is a tool that can be used in very negative ways towards vulnerable people,” she said.

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