The Twitter account of former Michigan linebacker Elysee Mbem-Bosse sent out a series of cryptic, disturbing tweets of a threatening nature on Monday evening. Buried within the tweets was one in particular that tagged wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh.
Now, campus police are responding.
Melissa Overton, deputy chief and department spokeswoman, confirmed to MLive that an investigation into the tweets from Mbem-Bosse's account has commenced. However, there have been no arrests or charges brought yet. James Yoder reported on Tuesday that campus police met with football and athletic department staff members to gather information on Mbem-Bosse and his whereabouts.
Just got word:
— James Yoder (@JamesTYoder) April 17, 2018
U. Of Michigan campus police and Ann Arbor police officers and detectives responded to the Elysee Mbem-Bosse Twitter threats.
They met with Football staff and Athletic Dept staff to gather information, including Elysee’s last known address.
Stay tuned.
The investigation is looking into a string of tweets that said, among other things, "Michigan is open carry. Let's not forget." and "Let's not have a murder case on your hands."
Michigan released the following statement to CBS Sports: "Elysee (Mbem-Bosse) left the football program in mid-November and is no longer with the team."
Though they've since been deleted, the tweets made their way on to Reddit via screenshots from user cappy412. Mbem-Bosse's account has also been switched to private. Due to some of the language in the tweets, we can't show them all (but here are some of the links). Here's one in particular in which Mbem-Bosse's account makes a pretty clear threat.
The backstory on this is vague. Mbem-Bosse was apparently suspended from the team for unknown reasons -- though he says it was in the wake of a "family crisis."
At best, these were regrettable tweets with no real intent behind them, an example of all that can be wrong with social media. At worst, they were legitimate threats. And with the country on high alert in the wake of mass shootings, they should be taken seriously (and they are).
However, specifics in this case at the moment are basically non-existent.
A former three-star recruit who signed with Michigan in 2016, Mbem-Bosse contributed as a backup and on special teams during his first two seasons. He is not listed on the Wolverines' most recent spring roster.
