Student Charged With Threats Says Remarks Not Aimed at TWU

Man says he said he "felt like tearing Washington, D.C., apart brick by brick

A man accused of making threats during a class at Texas Woman's University said that his remarks were not aimed at the university or its students.

Christopher Gillette's comments involving assault weapons during a history and government class led to a campus lockdown Tuesday.

"What I basically said is that I was extremely angry, that I had a specific nature of military training, and that I felt like tearing Washington, D.C., apart brick by brick," said Gillette, an Army veteran.

Gillette, 30, is charged with making a terroristic threat and is being held in the Denton County Jail.

He said that he was injured while serving in the military and that the government is not giving him the medical attention he needs.

"I feel like the medical care and support that I have received from the Department of Veteran Affairs border on criminal negligence," Gillette said.

He said physical pain, not a class discussion, agitated him off during the class.

"I was like, 'I am in so much pain, even just sitting here.' I was like, 'I can't do this anymore,'" Gillette said.

Gillette left campus and was eventually arrested at a VA hospital in Dallas where he had gone for treatment.

"Those girls are safer with me on campus than without me," he said. "I would die to protect them."

Gillette said he just wanted to get his point across and never intended for the campus to be locked down.

"The First Amendment to the Constitution -- I can say that," he said. "I can say, 'I hate my government.' I can say, 'I want to overthrow my government.' Now, if I drive into Washington, D.C., with assault weapons, then that's a different story."

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