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PROVO — A former college basketball coach with a history of mental illness was charged Friday with terrorizing an elementary school in Eagle Mountain.
Christopher Dewitt Craig, 35, of Eagle Mountain, was charged in 4th District Court with making a threat of terrorism, a second-degree felony; failure to disclose his identity, a class B misdemeanor; and disrupting a school, a class B misdemeanor.
An initial court hearing was held Friday afternoon. Although he was arrested on a $25,000 bond, Craig was ordered by a judge to be held without bail pending further court proceedings.
Wearing a green tunic, a ski mask and what appeared to be a turban, Craig went to Eagle Valley Elementary on Monday, parked his car on the sidewalk near the entrance of the school, and told school administrators to evacuate the building and no one would be hurt, according to police. He claimed his vehicle had a bomb in it, according to charging documents.
"Officers evacuated the building and tried to speak with (Craig), but (he) just told them to leave, that there was a bomb," charges state. "(Craig) told officers his name was Mohammed, then Patience. (He) demanded to talk with the press. Once officers had him speak to a robot to record a message for the media, he surrendered," according to the charges.
After he was taken into custody, Craig provided police with "a written statement making racist remarks," according to court documents.
Investigators did not find any explosives or weapons on Craig, in his car or during a subsequent search of his home.
Prior to going to the school, Craig sent an email to several media outlets informing them of his intentions.
"Will call 911 with a threat of an explosive and drive onto my 9 yr olds elementary school, Eagle Valley Elementary, with a True Explosive," part of the email said, according to the El Paso Times.
In the email, Craig said he "was born into this world under the slave name of Christopher Craig. Currently, I am known as The Radical Islamic Jihadist Muhammad Allah Al-Khidr."
Related:
Eagle Mountain students back in school; bail set for man accused of making threats
Sheriff's deputies lined up outside the front doors of Eagle Valley Elementary Tuesday morning."My reason for writing Today is because of my pending arrest and hunger strike which begins when I press send on this Discourse of Truth. In 2 hours, call Eagle Mountain PD in Eagle Mountain, UT if you think I am bluffing. Ask them," according to the El Paso Times.
Craig is the former head basketball coach at the College of Eastern Utah, the former assistant coach at Northern Colorado University, and the former head coach at Midland College in Texas.
A 2014 Sports Illustrated article by George Dohrmann outlines how Craig's once promising basketball career was sidelined by mental illness.
In 2013, Craig allegedly referred to himself as an “Islamic Jihadist” and said Mormons and Catholics would be destroyed. That same year, he was accused of disrupting an Eastern Arizona College class by raising a Bible in the air and shouting at the instructor, asking if he was Mormon.
By March 2013, "Craig has posted 31 handwritten pages on his blog in which he referred to Mitt Romney as a false prophet and to (President Barack) Obama as the Antichrist. He also called himself the Archangel Michael," according to the story in Sports Illustrated.
"Also in March, Craig journeyed to Israel at the same time Obama was visiting there, and his posted comments about the president being assassinated caught the attention of federal authorities. He was detained and sent back to the U.S.," Dohrmann wrote.
Later that year, after another arrest, the article said Craig was diagnosed as bipolar with psychotic episodes.
In 2014, police in Price say Craig, wearing a turban and a robe, went to his daughter's school and drove his car onto the playground. He was charged with disorderly conduct, driving on a suspended license and failing to give police his real identification. He pleaded guilty last year to attempted reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct and failure to disclose identity.
In January, Craig "became agitated and yelled obscenities at (a) deputy in a threatening manner" during a routine traffic stop, according to the Utah County Sheriff's Office.
