TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A man who was arrested after he reportedly posted threats to local attorneys and Indiana State University officials online has now been indicted by a federal grand jury.
According to documents filed in the United States District Court Southern District of Indiana, Nicholas Wheeler was an ISU Aviation student between August 2018 and August of 2023.
Wheeler is accused of attempting to extort victims through online threats posted to Twitter, now called X.
“Wheeler threatened that if the individuals did not give him $500,000 or investigate his claim that he was the victim of a crime, he was going to kill or injure them,” A Department of Justice news release reads.
Some of Wheeler’s messages included threats such as, “I’m coming to take your souls… closed casket funerals,” and “empty your bank accounts, I’m coming for blood Indiana State University,” accompanied by posts claiming to own a loaded machine gun and body armor.
DOJ news release
Court records show that Wheeler made his initial appearance in federal court before Judge Craig M. McKee on Wednesday. Prosecutors argued the judge should keep Wheeler in custody ahead of a potential jury trial date. A representative of the U.S. Attorney’s Office said a detention hearing is expected to be scheduled soon to address that matter.
*Note: The following document contains strong explicit language that some may find offensive
