Scottish Terrorist and Two Hackers Charged University of Pittsburgh Bomb Threats

Students and faculty line up with visitors to get through a security checkpoint to enter the Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh campus, in this April 10, 2012 file photo. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

 

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A man with ties to a Scottish terrorist group is accused of sending email bomb threats more than 50 times to the University of Pittsburgh this spring.

Scottish National Liberation Army member Adam Stuart Busby, 64, is accused of sending the email threats to the university, along with multiple bomb threats to western Pennsylvania courthouses, and specific threats of violence to U.S. attorney David Hickton, according to the FBI.

He is in custody in Dublin, Ireland, on charges relating to bomb threats and hoaxes throughout Great Britain, the FBI announced today.

Two men from Ohio who have claimed membership in the hacking group Anonymous were also charged in connection with the threats for their role in threatening to release personal information from the Pittsburgh college's computer system.

The university was evacuated more than 130 times during the spring semester because of the threats.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Students and faculty line up with visitors to... View Full Size

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Students and faculty line up with visitors to get through a security checkpoint to enter the Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh campus, in this April 10, 2012 file photo.

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Today, Hickton announced that federal law enforcement authorities working on he case had begun to suspect Busby's involvement as early as April, but the investigation took months to bring charges because of international subpoenas to Internet service providers.

A warrant for Busby's arrest will be lodged with Interpol, Hickton said.

Alexander Waterland, of Loveland, Ohio, and Brett Hudson, of Hillsboro, Ohio, were also charged in indictments released today stemming from emails they sent to the university in May about the bomb threats. The two men, identified as members of the hacking group Anonymous, are charged with targeting the computer the university's computer system and releasing personal data.

The two men were identified after they sent emails to the university's administrators promising to end the bomb threats if the university withdrew a monetary reward they had begun offering for information relating to the threats.

Hickton said today that authorities do not know why Busby targeted the University of Pittsburgh, saying that he had no ostensible connection to the school or community.

He was convicted in Dublin in 2010 of sending email threats from a public library to British airline officials at Heathrow claiming bombs were on two flights to New York, according to the Guardian.

Busby has been convicted of previous attacks and hoaxes throughout Great Britain.