Smithfield man arrested for making threats against local schools

Christopher Knowlton jail booking photo (Courtesy: Cache County Jail).

LOGAN — Police officers have arrested a 23-year-old Smithfield man suspected of making threats against local schools. A jail report shows Christopher Knowlton was booked into the Cache County Jail Monday afternoon.

Cache County School District Superintendent Steven Norton said police officers received a tip from the FBI Monday that Knowlton, a former student, had allegedly made threats toward local schools. He was questioned and later arrested on suspicion of making a threat of violence. He remains incarcerated on $30,000 bail.

Norton explained that Knowlton hadn’t specifically named an exact school or individual in his threats. Officers are continuing to investigate the validity of the accusations.

School resource officers, school administrators, and staff were notified, and asked to be extra diligent in their security efforts. The school district is remaining in close contact with detectives as the investigation continues.

Knowlton will likely be arraigned in 1st District Court Monday afternoon on formal charges.

Court records show in 2015 Knowlton was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. He later accepted a plea in abeyance, where he confessed to the infraction and agreed to remain out of trouble in exchange for a jail sentence. He had also been receiving treatment at a mental hospital in Provo at the time.

Norton continued to encourage community members to immediately report any safety concerns to school administration, police, or anonymously through the SafeUT app.


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3 Comments

  • Jessica Dana May 9, 2019 at 10:24 am Reply

    Do we know what exactly he was threatening? Like shooting or bomb or anything else? And why was nothing done in the two days after receiving the threat to protect our kids before he was arrested?

  • Jacob hamblin May 9, 2019 at 9:27 pm Reply

    Hopefully they treat someone with the courage to ask for help in a way that makes other people feel safe to ask for help. I don’t know if flailing our arms around and the judge throwing the book at him makes us any safer. Just one mans opinion.

  • Diana May 10, 2019 at 10:32 pm Reply

    Well, if he bails out, I hope they make parents aware! If it were my child’s school he threatened and he was released on bail, no way would my children be attending! ??‍♀️

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