Man who threatened 'to shoot up' Skowhegan school and service agency pleads guilty
May 26—A Washington state man accused of threatening "to shoot up" Skowhegan Area High School and kill employees at a central Maine social service agency more than two years ago admitted Wednesday that he made the threats on Facebook.
Jesus Wellington Kong, 27, of Olympia, Washington, pleaded guilty remotely in U.S. District Court in Bangor to two counts of making interstate threats. In his plea agreement with the U.S. attorney's office, a third count of cyberstalking will be dismissed at sentencing.
A sentencing date has not been set.
Using the moniker Osama Kingdada, Kong posted a violent threat on the Skowhegan school's public Facebook page on Dec. 3, 2018.
"i am the man that keeps threatening to shoot up Skowhegan area high school and leave a few students in a bloody pool," he is quoted in court documents as saying.
Administrators at the school did not take the threat seriously, according to the Morning Sentinel, but the local police chief had an extra officer at the school on Dec. 4, 2018, the day Facebook shut down the account.
Kong, using the same nickname, also threatened on Facebook to kill employees at an agency serving people with disabilities on Nov. 24, 2018, court documents said. Kong received services from the agency that has offices in Augusta, Skowhegan and Auburn in 2017 and 2018. He was no longer receiving them when the threats were made. Between Nov. 19, 2018, and Jan. 22, 2019, Kong directly threatened an agency employee, according to court documents.
Kong was arrested Dec. 7, 2018, in Olympia, Washington. He was indicted by a federal grand jury the following week in Maine. On Jan. 31, 2019, he pleaded not guilty to the charges in federal court in Bangor and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
U.S. District Judge Lance Walker found Kong not competent to stand trial on Sept. 9, 2019. Since then, Kong has been treated at federal prison medical facilities in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Texas. Walker found him competent on Dec. 22, 2020. The time he's been held since his arrest will be counted toward Kong's sentence.
Kong faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. In his plea agreement with the U.S. attorney's office, Kong waived his right to appeal his sentence to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston if it does not exceed 2 1/2 years.
Walker most likely will sentence Kong to time served. He will have been in federal custody for 2 1/2 years on June 7.
