Was it a bad joke – or did an MTU student intend harm?
A federal court lawsuit levels series charges of coverup, falsely alarming the public and intentionally releasing false information due to a sophomoric response to a social media post – and that alleged threat was then edited by a former student – who has been a thorn in the side of MTU officials
News Director, Owner
(Marquette, MI) – An Upper Peninsula honor student with a promising future as an automotive engineer has filed a federal court lawsuit against Michigan Tech University, 11 MTU staff including the President and police chief plus several vice presidents and a former MTU student – accusing them of ruining his life by falsely portraying a social media post he meant as a joke – and instead turned into a national news stories – and ultimately no charges.
The suit cites series of charges that include wrongful expulsion and cites the first and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution and unspecified but presumably large financial damages. The suits exhibits include the coverage of the alarming situation by the national, Green Bay and U.P. media.
The suit was filed on behalf of Matthew Schultz of Norway, MI – who the suit notes comes from an unusually racially diverse background compared to most in the U.P.
The documents:
The original social media post – that the suit claims was taken down within five minutes – is as follows:
“Gonna shoot all black people…….a smile tomorrow”
That statement ends with the symbol of a “cheesy smiley face” called an emoji, the suit states.
In fact, the suit alleges that MTU officials were duped by the former student who posted an edited version of the post and sent it to MTU officials.
Here is how the joke was explained in the lawsuit:
“With the intent to point out the ridiculous nature of the threats (‘shoot every black person’) and the illiterate language used by racists (gonna) Matthew post the following: ‘Gonna shoot all black people…….a smile tomorrow,’ meaning he is going to shoot a smile at black people, expressing in a humorous way, that he is not racist.”
The post stirs strong emotion from people – who either believe it was a a real threat by a potentially racist and dangerous Schultz – capable of who knows what.
Or believe Schultz was the victim of an overzealous prosecution and after it had been blown out of proportion by an unsophisticated, unprepared reactionary force of MTU officials – egged on by a former student with axes to grind – noting even charges against Schultz were very minor – and then dropped.
At issue was a social media (Yik Yak) post by Schultz that the suit apparently attempts to explain was a joke. However, MTU officials were not amused. The suit notes that Yik Yak permits anonymous posts that can be seen by subscribers within a set radius.
The suit argues that MTU officials overreacted and thrust Schultz into the national media spotlight – when on Nov. 12, 2015 at 1:46 p.m. that a post by Schultz – or at least part of his post – was taken to heart and disseminated by MTU officials who shut down the campus sparking a media firestorm.
On that late fall day last year, and just hours before the heavily armed U.P. deer season – the Schultz “noticed Yik Yak posts that included comments about recent threats on the campus of the University of Missouri and posts about MTU having its own racial issues.”
The lawsuit states the post was taken down by former MTU student Ryan Grainger who “captured” an imagine of the post by way of a “screen shot,” the suit states.
Scroll down to see more details on how the suit depicts Grainger.
When the incident occurred, the Dickinson County man was a third year MTU student majoring in mechanical engineering, the lawsuit states.
Among the purposes of the federal civil court lawsuit is “to correct the wrongful expulsion of Matthew Schultz from Michigan Technological University” and to “enforce constitutional rights” under the First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendments (Due Rights Clause) to the U.S. Constitution.
“The amount in controversy exceeds $75,000” and the suits names 11 MTU staff including mostly high-ranking officials like the president, vice presidents and the police chief – who are named in their “official and individual capacities.”
Schultz is represented by attorneys Steven L. Pence of Pence Law in Marquette and Nicholas Roumel of the Nacht Law.
While Schultz’s family “is primarily made up of Caucasians” – the suit contends that Schultz is not racist.
“A number of family members, including one first cousin, are biracial, being African-Americans/Caucasians,” the suit states.
Schultz “maintains good ongoing relationships with these family members and other person who are African American,” the suit states. “His biracial cousin will attend MTU this fall.”
Prior to the incident, Schultz “led the life of a small town young man who was bright enough to succeed at a challenging educational institution.”
The incident caused protests at MTU – and the lawsuit exhibits depict much of the media furor over the incident.
Pointing out racial disparity in the Upper Peninsula – the suit states Schultz had a diverse background – especially for living between the south shore of Lake Superior and the north shore of Lake Michigan. Online posts and a few news stories have pointed out the Lilly white make up of the Upper Peninsula – with the only notable exceptions was in sports programs at MTU and Northern Michigan University.
Schultz “was uniquely blessed by having, for the Upper Peninsula, and unusually racially diverse family,” the suit states.
The suit names the following Houghton County residents:
- Glen Mroz, MTU President
- Les. P. Cook, MTU V.P. of Student Affairs and Advancement
- Bonnie Gorman, MTU Associate V.P. and Dean of Students
- Daniel Bennett, Police Chief at the MTU Dept. of Public Safety and Police Services (DPSPS)
- Brian Cadwell, MTU Deputy Police Chief at the DPSPS
- Reid DeVoge, MTU DPSPS officer
- John Lehman, MTU Associate V.P. For Enrollment and Communications
- Jennifer Donovan, MTU Director of News and Media Relations
- Ian Repp, MTU Director of Marketing and Communications
- Robert Bishop, MTU Director of Academic and Community Conduct
- Rhys Edwards, MTU Coordinator of Academic and Community Conduct
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The suit also names former MTU student Ryan Grainger of Houghton County, MI
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Before the controversy, Plaintiff Matthew Schultz “was involved in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) MTU Enterprise Program Formula Race team for four semesters,” the suit states.
Schultz “was an honor roll student and a graduate of Norway High School where he played high school football,” the suit states noting he “participated in Boys State, Skills USA, was designated an ‘Outstanding Student’ and earned significant awards in automotive technology including Second Place in the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition.”
Here are some of the examples from the suit and how it depicts Grainger and MTU officials:
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Related info:
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Steven L. Pence
Pence Law
http://pencelaw.org/meet-the-attorneys/3698106
Nicholas Roumel
Nacht Law
http://www.nachtlaw.com/Employment-Law
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment
http://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment1.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_Am1.html
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about-the-first-amendment
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Due_Process_Clause
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv
http://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xiv
Defendant Ryan Grainger
https://www.facebook.com/Rjgraing
https://www.reddit.com/r/MTU/comments/460gdo/full_result_of_my_foia_request/
https://www.reddit.com/r/MTU/comments/46heo7/dont_commit_suicide_ryan/
MTU Facebook/Twitter:
https://twitter.com/michigantech
https://www.facebook.com/michigantech/
Main MTU Suit: 26 pages
Exhibits:
Exhibit A 2 pages 44 kb
Exhibit B 2 pages 52 kb
Exhibit C 2 pages 33 kb
Exhibit D 2 pages 107 kb
Exhibit E 2 pages 46 kb
Exhibit F 2 pages 59 kb
Exhibit G 2 pages 43 kb
Exhibit H 2 pages 89 kb
Exhibit I 3 pages 226 kb
Exhibit J 6 pages 0.6 mb
Exhibit K 8 pages 0.7 mb
Exhibit L 2 pages 71 kb
Exhibit M 6 pages 291 kb
Exhibit N 3 pages 124 kb
Exhibit O 4 pages 144 kb
Exhibit P 3 pages 95 kb
Exhibit Q 4 pages 178 kb
Exhibit R 3 pages 123 kb
Exhibit S 6 pages 0.6 mb
Exhibit T 3 pages 110 kb
Exhibit U 3 pages 85 kb
Exhibit V 26 pages 2.0 mb
Exhibit W 2 pages 96 kb
Exhibit X 3 pages 105 kb
Exhibit Y 3 pages 99 kb
Exhibit A 6 pages 271 kb
Exhibit AA 4 pages 336 kb
Exhibit BB 2 pages 54 kb
Exhibit CC 4 pages 250 kb
Upper Peninsula Breaking News by Greg Peterson 