Two of the three youths, Tony Jacob, 16, and Tom Elam, 15, have been held in Grand Mesa Youth Services Center in Grand Junction, Colorado, since their arrests on December 21 in connection with an alleged plot to bomb MCHS and the Moffat County Courthouse. Jacob has also been charged with felony stalking. Bail has been set at $50,000 each.

The third youth, Stephen Jackman, 17, was released on a $5,000 bond January 14 into the custody of his father in Lyman, Wyoming. Judge Joel Thompson ruled that Jackman did not pose the same threat to himself or the community as the other two.

No political or other motivations have been alleged by those making these accusations. The results of a psychological examination are being used against Elam, who is said to have a "fascination with explosives." Allegations stemming from suspensions from schools in Nebraska and Kansas are being used against Jacob, even though no criminal charges were ever pressed against him in those cases.  
 
A product of hysteria
This case is a product of hysteria by school officials and cops since the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, which has deepened since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington.

MCHS principal Jane Krogman explained that the charges grew out of a smaller incident when one of the three students was suspended December 21 for having a pocketknife at school. School administrators then began cooking up "an investigation of possible violence in the school."

The cops called in bomb-sniffing dogs from a nearby Air Force base when their search of the school turned up no evidence of a bomb. However, in this climate of hysteria, this failed to allay some parental fears.

Two of the youths were arrested at the school after another student claimed to have been threatened and complained to a school patrol officer, who in turn reported the allegation to school officials.

Thompson bound this case together with two others against Elam, who faces a probation revocation hearing stemming from a felony conviction in 2000 for possession of explosives when he brought gunpowder to school, and a criminal mischief case that has not yet gone to trial.

Norm Townsend, attorney for Elam, argued, "There is simply no plot, simply no evidence of a plot, no evidence of bomb-making equipment or materials."

Townsend said that a video game that allowed players to build virtual cities and battle one another over the Internet, a game that was played by several MCHS students, was the basis of this case. Townsend also pointed out that another juvenile in Craig, who was recently convicted of possession of explosives, is presently at home with an ankle monitor.

No charges of possessing explosive materials or actual criminal acts of violence have been filed in this case. The only charges filed are for violating thought-control statutes of "conspiracy" and "training." Some local residents have mentioned concerns that the arrests were made for what the three said and thought and not for what they actually did.

Under examination at a January 14 hearing, Student Resource Officer Bridgit Camilletti even admitted the cops had not found any evidence of bomb making materials or equipment, but said the investigation is not complete, and that further evidence--such as what Elam might have been buying over the Internet with his father's credit card--was still being "researched and collected," another way of saying they are still concocting a frame-up.

Following pre-expulsion hearings at Moffat County High School the next day, Interim Superintendent Peter Bergmann announced he is recommending to the school board the three be expelled based largely on the police report.

The Craig Daily Press quoted the mother of one of the youths as saying people who knew the boys "could see the boys maybe spouting off and saying something stupid, but not doing something like that. The police overreacted."

The climate of hysteria claimed scientific research as a victim in Kiowa, Colorado, near the center of the state, in recent days when a teacher was suspended and a 15-year-old student could still face criminal charges stemming from a science fair project on how bombs work. The device in the exhibit was not capable of exploding and posed no threat to anyone.

Meanwhile, in Littleton the parents of Daniel Rohrbough, who was killed at Colombine High School, have been seeking an inquest into their son's death. Brian Rohrbough and Sue Patrone say they have evidence that cops killed their son, not Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.

Jason Alessio is an underground coal miner and a member of United Mine Workers of America Local 1984.  
 
 
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