Joshua Ricchio, a sophomore in the College of Education, pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge at his preliminary court appearance Nov. 5.
He was charged Oct. 30 for uploading a Snapchat video Oct. 25 that featured rifle magazines with the caption, “Don’t go to school today.” Marquette University Police Department arrested him the same day he uploaded the video and alerted the campus community.
His original bail was posted at $2,000. However, because the maximum for a misdemeanor charge is $1,000 and cannot be exceeded by bail, the state prosecutor agreed to lower bail to $500. The remainder of the bail will be returned to the poster.
Defense attorney Jonathan Smith, a 1995 Marquette Law School graduate, reached an agreement with the state prosecutor over the conditions for Ricchio’s bail.
Ricchio is to refrain from posting, commenting or liking on all social media platforms until the pre-trial conference at minimum.
The state requested Ricchio be banned from all contact with weapons. However, as Ricchio is part of Reserve Officer Training Corps, a caveat was added by Smith that he be allowed to handle weapons under direct supervision by the United States Military.
Smith, a private criminal lawyer, has worked in his profession for 24 years. He said he was not surprised with the outcome of the hearing.
A pre-trial conference will be held Dec. 5 at 8:30 a.m. in the Milwaukee County Circuit Courthouse.
