Charge dismissed for online threat suspect

HOUGHTON — Twenty-one-year-old Matthew Shultz is off the hook for now.

The Michigan Tech student from Norway, had been charged with Disturbing the Peace, a charge which had sparked controversy for its perceived leniency following a social media post that appeared to target the campus’s black community. Though questions about what the text actually meant have been raised, emotions ran high at the university, namely fear and anger.

Houghton County Prosecutor Michael Makinen did not elaborate on his reasons for requesting a dismissal of the charge without prejudice. Makinen told the judge, “There’s an ongoing investigation and I don’t know that, in fairness, we can go forward and complete this within the time frame that the court is under. So, if it is recharged it will be as a result of whatever comes up in the continuing investigation.”

Regarding any disciplinary actions against Shultz from the university, Michigan Tech officials say they are continuing with the conduct process and there will be a hearing before their conduct board.