Student barred from CU campus

Bianca Prieto, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 19, 2007 at midnight

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BOULDER - A University of Colorado student charged with making threatening statements during a class discussion of the mass killings at Virginia Tech was ordered Wednesday not to return to campus.

Max Robinson Karson, 22, was released on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond from the Boulder County jail after spending a day there. He was released to his father, Michael Karson, a University of Denver professor.

Karson is being charged with a misdemeanor for interference with staff, faculty or students of an educational institution, which is punishable by up to six months in prison and up to a $750 fine.

As a condition of the bond, Karson may not go to CU's campus, except for a hearing with the school's judicial affairs department.

"You do not want to risk this," Judge Noel Blum warned after telling Karson the conditions of his release. "You don't want to test me on that."

Karson, who has taken on free speech battles on the campus in the past, declined to comment after being released from jail late Wednesday afternoon.

On Tuesday, Karson was accused of making threatening statements during a class discussion about the recent Virginia Tech tragedy. According to a police report, the discussion became heated when Karson said he understood what would drive a person to kill on a college campus.

"If anyone in here says that they've never been so angry that you wanted to kill 32 people, you're lying," Karson said, according to a statement made by a CU faculty member.

Karson also talked about how the look of the classroom made him angry enough to kill, the report said.

"Overall, I found myself very frightened by the threats and views Max expressed in class today," the faculty member stated.

prietob@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5219

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