A Massachusetts man faced federal charges Wednesday for sending false bomb threats to schools in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Illinois and North Carolina, according to federal officials.
Anthony Rae, 24, of Stoughton, had previously been charged in Dedham District Court, but those charges were dismissed today and he was taken into federal custody.
After being called a "danger to the community" by prosecutors, Rae was ordered to be held in Boston's U.S. District Court Wednesday pending a dention hearing next week.
According to the federal complaint, Rae used three different email accounts to send bomb threats to schools in four states over the past year.
The spree began in October 2014 when Rae used a Gmail account to send two emails threatening to bomb an elementary school in Chicago, Illinois, and several public schools in Norwood, Massachusetts, according to the complaint.
After that, he allegedly hacked his mother's Hotmail account and used it to send two separate bomb threats to his own school, ITT Technical Institute in Norwood, in March and June of this year.
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Investigators obtained a search warrant for Rae's residence, and seized numerous electronic devices. The next day, Rae used a public computer available to tenants of his apartment complex to send a bomb threat to Rhode Island College in Providence, according to the complaint.
Police in Massachusetts arrested Rae on June 19 and charged him with the three Massachusetts threats. He was released on bail, and while out, created another Gmail account and threatened to bomb North Carolina State University in Raleigh, the complaint said.
The charges carry a sentence of no more than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
It's not clear if Rae has an attorney.
Police in Massachusetts, Chicago, Rhode Island and North Carolina all took part in the investigation.
