Cary-Grove Student Arrested for Social Media Threat Free On Bond

An 18-year-old Cary man who was charged with disorderly conduct for his alleged role in posting a threat directed at Cary-Grove High School on social media is free on bond. Daniel M. Battaglia, a Cary-Grove student, was taken into custody Wednesday at the high school. His bail was set at $25,000 on Thursday, the Northwest Herald reports.

He posted bond and was released from the McHenry County jail at 9:25 a.m., according to online jail records.

Battaglia's arrest came after an investigation into three social media posts that surfaced Monday and put Cary-Grove parents and students on high alert.

The Northwest Herald reports:

One of the images was identified as fabricated, a second image was re-posted but not created by the person whose name is attached to it and a third image contained false information distributed by multiple individuals in response to the fabricated image.

Cary police determined one of the posts was altered by overlaying violent messages to try and implicate a former student as the culprit behind the social media threats, according to a news release from the police department. That post was then shared over social media, which "induced alarm and concern in the school and community," police said.

The Federal Bureau of investigation, as well as several school and law enforcement agencies, assisted with the investigation into the incident.

Battaglia been charged with disorderly conduct - transmitting a threat against a school/person in connection.

The Monday threat did not appear to be connected to another social media threat that occurred last month, Cary Deputy Police Chief Jim Fillmore told the Northwest Herald. Investigators determined there was no actual threat to the school.

Following the social media threats, police were urging the public "to remember the context of these types of incidents and the effects of re-posting information through social media."

Photo via the McHenry County Sheriff's Office