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YANKTON, S.D. (AP) — A Yankton man charged after posting a message on Twitter threatening to shoot up a school has been sentenced to one year of probation.
Travis Potts, 23, was arrested in May after law enforcement officials were notified of two tweets Potts posted in April, the Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan reported. Yankton Police Chief Brian Paulsen had said that one tweet stated that Potts intended to "shoot up" a school and set it on fire. Another said Potts wanted to "set a toddler on fire."
Potts had earlier pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of making terroristic threats. Under a deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency management personnel.
Magistrate Judge Tami Bern sentenced Potts to one year of probation with 30 days of jail suspended. Conditions of his probation include a mental evaluation and that he not loiter around schools.
During the short search for Potts on May 7, the Yankton School District had placed all of its facilities on a partial lockdown, which meant all external doors were secured and students were kept indoors.
Potts told the Press and Dakotan that "a lot of people out there now think I m going to harm them and am mentally not all there. I don t want that image. I want this to be a lesson to my peers. People who use social networks to escape and get away from reality have to watch it."
Potts said after sentencing that he's "a little afraid to tweet yet."
"I want to get my courage back and be a little more thoughtful when I tweet," he said.
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Information from: Yankton Press and Dakotan, http://www.yankton.net/
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