Accusations of criminal activity against University students who threatened an American Indian student will not be filed due to lack of evidence of an actual crime, State’s Attorney Julia Rietz said.

In order for charges to be brought against the students, threats would have to be made directly to the American Indian student, such as in an e-mail or direct message, Rietz said.

“The facts of the situation do not rise to the level of a criminal offense,” Rietz said. “There simply was not a crime that was committed here.”

If threats against a student in an open public forum called for other people to act and resulted in action, charges may be brought against them, Rietz said.

The threatening posts were made on the Facebook group “If They Get Rid of the Chief I’m Becoming a Racist” on Nov. 20 and Dec. 2.

Shortly after the second post, the group was brought to the attention of the campus community through press releases from many organizations and a mass e-mail from Chancellor Richard Herman. The group was removed from Facebook.

However, according to an Associated Press article, the three students may still face disciplinary action from the University, according to William Riley, Dean of Students, in an Associated Press article. An unknown disciplinary committee of faculty and staff members are currently reviewing the case. Riley was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

Although the Facebook remarks may have been “stupid and inappropriate,” the students were exercising their right of free speech, Rietz said.

“It’s important to remember that there are examples of bad behavior on both sides of the Chief issue,” said Rietz.

The Board of Trustees has said a final decision on the use of the Chief will be made this year.