Court Case

USA v. Casdorph, Gavin Lee

December 2018 (Updated April 24, 2020)
Anchorage, AK
Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)

Gavin Lee Casdorph of Anchorage, Alaska, was charged in January 2019 with making false threats after claiming that he planned to detonate several bombs across the Lafayette College campus. On May 5, 2018, while posing as a radicalized Lafayette College student and using the handle "BdanJafarSaleem," Casdorph posted on Twitter that he planned to bomb multiple locations on campus. He attached a letter to his tweets, falsely claiming that his grandfather had died, his girlfriend had broken up with him, and that he had found faith and healing in Allah. The posts also pledged allegiance to ISIS and included an image of the ISIS flag and a photograph of several firearms, with the caption: "Allah has graced us with these weapons of destruction to carry out his needs." He pleaded guilty to making false threats.

Case Updates

2020-04-24 | Alaska Man Who Claimed Loyalty to ISIS and Threatened Attack on Lafayette College Campus Pleads Guilty

Gavin Lee Casdorph, 21, of Anchorage, Alaska, pleaded guilty to one count of willfully making false threats in violation of 18 U.S.C. ยง 844(e). United States District Judge Edward G. Smith presided over the guilty plea hearing in Easton via video teleconference. Casdorph was charged in January 2019 with making false threats after claiming that he planned to detonate several bombs across the Lafayette College campus. On May 5, 2018, while posing as a radicalized Lafayette College student and using the handle "BdanJafarSaleem," Casdorph posted on Twitter that he planned to bomb multiple locations on campus. He attached a letter to his tweets, falsely claiming that his grandfather had died, his girlfriend had broken up with him, and that he had found faith and healing in Allah. The posts also pledged allegiance to ISIS and included an image of the ISIS flag and a photograph of several firearms, with the caption: "Allah has graced us with these weapons

Case Documents