PA College Bomb Threat: Alaska Man Sentenced To Prison

EASTON, PA — An Alaska man posing as an ISIS radical who made bomb threats against Lafayette College and firebombed a car in Canada was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court here to five years and three months in federal prison.

Gavin Lee Casdorph, 23, of Anchorage, pleaded guilty in April 2020 to making false threats in connection with threats of detonating several bombs across the campus just before the 2018 graduation ceremonies.

Casdorph also admitted traveling to Canada and firebombing a car of the boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend.

U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith also sentenced Casdorph to three years of probation following his jail term. He was ordered to pay $7,700 in restitution and fined $1,000.

U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said threats of mass violence and destruction, especially on school campuses or any public place, are taken extremely seriously.

"This defendant thought he could make threats from the other side of the continent with impunity, but the dedicated agents of the FBI on this case proved him wrong," Romero said.

Casdorph's lawyer, Caroline Goldner Cinquanto of Philadelphia, said Thursday her client suffers from severe mental illness as a result of being traumatized as a child.

The attorney said Casdorph's threatening emails to the Lafayette officials followed an argument with a Lafayette student when he was online playing the game called Counter-Strike.

“He has realized that his actions with the Lafayette student were incredibly wrong,” Cinquanto said. “He is remorseful.”

Cinquanto expressed appreciation to the prosecutors for understanding the overall situation.

According to court records:

Casdorph sent a mass email on May 5, 2018 to 23 members of Lafayette staff stating the he was setting up pipe bombs, pressure cookers and nail bombs on campus. He wrote on the subject line "ISIS will Prevail . . ."

He also posted an image of the ISIS flag and a photograph of several firearms on Twitter.

Investigators quickly determined that the bomb threats were a hoax, and arrested Casdorph in Anchorage, Alaska in December 2018.

As a result of the threats, the Lafayette College administration moved 2018 graduation their traditional open venue to a facility with limited ingress and egress in order to allow for enhanced security, according to court records.

Jacqueline Maguire, special agent in charge of the FBI's Philadelphia division, said the FBI takes threats seriously.

"I hope today's sentencing sends a message that hoax threats aren't a joke, they're a crime," Mcquire said in a prepared statement. "Please don't let keyboard courage short-circuit your future.

"Anyone who tries something like this shouldn't be surprised when the FBI rolls up at your front door."

The case was investigated by the Lafayette College department of public safety, Easton police and the FBI divisions in Philadelphia and Anchorage.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph LaBar.

Additional assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska.