A former Nicholls student pled guilty to a charge of communicating threats in interstate commerce after admitting to sending a threatening message through Facebook to a Nicholls student. According to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s office, Dyron L. Hart , 20, of Poplarville, Miss. admitted that he used a fictitious name and the photograph of a white supremacist to create a Facebook account. He used the account to send a threat to an African American student at Nicholls, indicating he wanted to kill African Americans because of the election of President Obama.

“It’s unfortunate that the situation occurred,” Eugene Dial, vice president for student affairs and enrollment services, said. “It was a good learning opportunity for everyone.”

Dial said the University, after learning about the message, worked to ensure the campus was safe. The administration, working with law enforcement, determined that the message was not a credible threat to the University.

“We had to research it and find out the truth,” Dial said. “We had good procedures in place.”

Hart’s sentencing is scheduled for November 18. The maximum possible sentence is imprisonment for five years, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release following imprisonment.