Terrorism charge dropped against man accused of threatening to kill 'woke' at UVU

PARK CITY — A terrorism charge against a Pennsylvania man has been dismissed after he was accused of threatening to kill "woke" on the UVU campus in a video posted just days after the fatal shooting of Chfarlie Kirk.

Blake Rogers, 20, was arrested on Sept. 17 after traveling from Pennsylvania to Park City. Rogers posted a threatening video of himself to social media Sept. 15, saying he was in Park City to fulfill his "lifelong duty of finally killing woke," according to a police booking affidavit.

He was charged on Sept. 25 in the Summit County Justice Court with a threat of terrorism that caused emergency responders to act, a class B misdemeanor.

On Oct. 17, prosecutor Wendy Crossland filed a motion to dismiss the charge "in the interest of justice." Further reasoning for the dismissal was not provided in the court docket.

The court dismissed the case without prejudice on Tuesday, meaning it could be refiled again later if additional evidence becomes available.

The county attorney's office did not directly respond to a request for more information about why it requested the case's dismissal, but did say the state was not ready to proceed on the case.

Rogers' attorney Andrew Young released a statement about the case, saying the video was intended to be an inside joke to "a few select friends."

"Because of the size of the file, it was posted to a private link on YouTube. Even though it wasn't disseminated publicly, YouTube's threat algorithm picked it up and reported it to law enforcement, which led to Blake's arrest," Young said.

Young said while he knows it was necessary for law enforcement to investigate the video, he does not believe Rogers should have been charged.

"The joke did not target a specific person or group. He targeted the woke mind virus, and it contained several tongue-in-cheek references to pop culture," Young said. "Nonetheless, I'm thankful the prosecutors recognized the case lacked merit and faced serious constitutional issues. Making a bad joke is still not a crime here."

The video

Rogers began the 70-second video by introducing himself and saying he is from Philadelphia.

"I am currently in Park City, Utah," Rogers states, per the arrest report. "I am now beginning my odyssey to Utah Valley University, to fulfill my lifelong duty of finally killing woke. If you are receiving this video, it means that I did not make it back on this trip, and I was defeated by my mortal enemy, the woke mind virus at Utah Valley University, where ... Charlie Kirk was assassinated. I hope by seeing this video, you all can understand what made me perform such actions and can view me as the hero that I know I am. I would like to request a gold statue be erected in place of Mario the Dragon, on the crossing of Market and, I think, 31st Street, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thank you."

He was likely referring to "Mario the Magnificent," a statue of Drexel University's mascot on the corner of Market and 33rd Street.

Deputies say they were notified of the video by the FBI and eventually located a residence where Blake was staying in Summit County, along with a phone number that was location-pinged to the residence. Authorities at UVU were "immediately notified" early Sept. 16 of the threat, police said.

Investigators believed "lives were at risk" and broadcast an attempt to locate notice for Rogers to other local agencies and law enforcement in Utah County. He was located at the residence.

"When asked if he knew why detectives were there, he replied with, 'Because of the video I posted last night,'" the affidavit states. "Blake admits to making the video around 5 p.m. and says he brings up killing the idea of woke. He says it was posted as a joke on an unlisted YouTube video and sent to 12-15 people."

Rogers told deputies he leaned to the left politically, but "did not claim any particular party and (was) using the term 'woke' as a vague idea," according to the affidavit. The term "woke" is a slang term that originally described being aware of racial issues and other forms of social justice, but is now frequently used as a derisive term by some conservatives.

"It is believed a valid threat was posed to the public and Utah Valley University," the affidavit states. "Blake posted a threat involving bodily injury, death or substantial property damage, and he caused an official or volunteer agency organized to deal with emergencies to take action due to the actor's conduct posing a serious and substantial risk to the general public. Several agencies were on alert for a possible violent attack at the Utah Valley University campus."

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