Woman asks Netanyahu to drop bombs on college event in WhatsApp chat — her college is in Florida, but cops arrest her anyway

Florida authorities arrested Gabriela Saldana, a 23-year-old student at Miami’s Florida International University (FIU), this month after Saldana allegedly sent messages in a large WhatsApp group chat that investigators say constituted a written threat of violence tied to a campus event.

According to police and court records, Saldana posted the messages in a group chat of roughly 200-plus students who were discussing a scheduled capstone event at FIU’s Ocean Bank Convocation Center. In one message, Saldana invoked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, writing: “Netanyahu, if you can hear me, drop some bonbons for us Capstone students in Ocean Bank Convocation Center.” Investigators said the term “bonbons” was interpreted as a reference to bombs.

Saldana’s second message: “There is going to be a bomb.”

According to investigators, Saldana then allegedly sent a second, more explicit message: “There is going to be a bomb in the Ocean Bank Convocation Center and it was going to be Jonathan’s fault,” it reportedly said, referring to another student in the chat.

Authorities say the messages prompted concern among students, several of whom reported them to police. Saldana later acknowledged in the chat that she had “wrote a dumb joke that should not have been made,” according to reports and court testimony.

Despite her claim that the messages were intended as a joke, police arrested her near campus, charging her under Florida law with making a written threat to kill or do bodily harm, a second-degree felony carrying up to 15 years in prison.

An arrest report states that the message was made “in a manner in which it may be viewed by another person” and could be interpreted as a real threat.

Saldana was “frustrated”

The case quickly moved to bond court, where a judge set Saldana’s bond at $5,000. At that hearing, the judge noted that even if Saldana considered the message a joke, the legal standard hinges on how a reasonable person would perceive it, finding probable cause for the charge at this stage.

Saldana reportedly tried to “soften” the impact after the fact by editing the message to add “I sowwy :(“, but police used the original text and the subsequent “bomb” message as the basis for the arrest.

Authorities have not publicly identified a broader motive beyond what Saldana allegedly told investigators that she was frustrated with the event and wanted it rescheduled.

In a statement, FIU said:

An FIU student has been arrested for making a credible and imminent threat of violence at a planned university event. According to the investigation, the suspect identified a specific date, time and venue. Given the ongoing investigation and federal student privacy laws, FIU has no further comment. There is no further threat to the university community.”

via KSVN

Campus police said they worked alongside other agencies, including federal partners, as part of the investigation.

As of the latest reports, Saldana remains charged with a felony offense, and the case is ongoing. Prosecutors have not publicly detailed whether additional charges will be filed or when the case could proceed to trial.