Marquette sophomore Joshua Ricchio is charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly posting a Snapchat video Friday that showed another male student handling rifle magazines and making a threatening comment, according to the criminal complaint.
The student in the video was shown dressed in camouflage fatigues. He removed training magazines — which do not hold live ammunition — from a backpack and placed them on a shelf. The video featured text that read, “Don’t go to school today.”
A student reported the video to a resident advisor in Schroeder Hall, where the video was filmed. That student said she was “terrified for her life” after watching the video. A friend of hers who also viewed the video said “she felt alarmed and upset by the Snapchat post,” according to the complaint.
In a police interview, Ricchio admitted posting the video and said he thought it would be funny.
“He stated he now knows what he did was wrong and could see how others would feel threatened or afraid to go to school after seeing it,” the complaint said.
Ricchio faces a fine of up to $1,000 and up to 90 days in the Wisconsin correctional system for the misdemeanor charge issued against him.
The university alerted the campus community to the matter Friday in an email to students, staff and faculty. The original news release said MUPD arrested the student in The Commons dining hall.
The student in the video is not facing charges, MUPD Assistant Chief Jeff Kranz said.
Ricchio will have an initial court appearance Nov. 5. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Joshua Ricchio was the student featured in the Snapchat video. The story has been updated to correctly state that Ricchio was the student who posted the Snapchat video, which featured a separate student. The Wire regrets this error.
