USU Student Releases Chemical Gas in Dorm, Forces Mass Evacuations Hours After FBI Questioning About Terrorism

TO Utah State University The student was arrested after authorities said he contaminated his dorm room with hydrochloric acid gas, forcing mass evacuations, just hours after being questioned by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Joshua Peter Jager, 20, was arrested Thursday night and charged with causing a catastrophe reckless and disorderly conduct, according to an indictment.

USU authorities responded to a fire alarm just before 7:45 p.m. Thursday at Mountain View Tower and found the entire first floor covered in a vaporous substance, which was later discovered to be hydrochloric acid gas, according to a statement. probable cause affidavit filed in First District Court.

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The alarm caused a “mass evacuation” from each person who lived in the dorm, and involved EMS, the Logan Fire Department, Logan HAZMAT and USU Police, according to court documents.

Days earlier, USU police officers responded to Jager’s dorm room in Mountain View Tower on Monday after a fire alarm went off in his room, according to court documents.

He allegedly told authorities he was boiling water and vinegar to make potatoes, but they later found a large stash of chemicals, including silver nitrate and potassium carbonate, along with machinery, tools and many batteries.

Suspecting there may have been “drug or explosive manufacturing,” police called bomb technicians to the scene, where they confiscated the chemicals, according to the affidavit. The room was later deemed safe and Jager was told to remove all chemicals and stop cooking in his bedroom.

Jager was brought to the USU Police Department at 11:30 a.m. Thursday and asked about the reason for the chemicals in his room, according to court documents. He claimed he had the chemicals for years and did not use them to create explosives or drugs.

He FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force joined the interview and questioned him about “any ties he has to any terrorist organization,” which he denied, according to the affidavit. He claimed he made a “mistake” by bringing the chemicals into the bedroom.

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He was then searched for the fbi and a certified police officer to stop using chemicals and, if he found other chemicals in his bedroom, to contact police so they could be properly disposed of, according to court documents.

During the mass evacuation, which occurred just six hours after the FBI interrogation, Jager admitted to setting off the alarm and said he found more chemicals he was trying to “neutralize.”

Cache County District Court Judge Angela Fonnesbeck granted Jagger $2,500 bail Friday morning, according to a court order.

Everyone who was forced to leave the dormitory had to walk through the gas, causing a “contamination problem,” according to the affidavit.

An initial estimate for cleanup and restoration was approximately $10,000 to $20,000, according to court documents. Labor and overtime costs will “substantially” increase the expense.

In a statement issued Friday, the university said the investigation is ongoing and that “other charges” may be added.

“USU Housing found spaces in other USU buildings and on an Aggie Shuttle bus to keep student residents out of the elements while they waited to determine if decontamination was necessary or if they were allowed to return to their room around midnight,” according to the statement. “No other students needed to be decontaminated.”

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Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Krystin Deschamps sent a message to Mountain View Tower residents saying the CARE Office is available to assist with academic issues caused by the evacuation.