Ex-MN Mayor Threatened To Shoot Up U Of MN Campus: Police

CHIPPEWA COUNTY, MN — The former mayor of a Minnesota town is accused of threatening to shoot up University of Minnesota-Twin Cities students last week.

Joseph M. Rongstad, 41, of Watson was charged Wednesday with one felony count of ineligible possession of ammunition and two felony counts of threats of violence.

If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.

A conviction of ineligible possession of ammunition comes with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison under Minnesota law.

Rongstad made his first court appearance Thursday and his bail was set at $1,000,000.

The threats in the case resulted in university police issuing several safety alerts, warning students and employees to avoid campus. However, Rongstad never came to the Twin Cities and was instead arrested at his home following an hours-long standoff with law enforcement at his Watson home hours away, according to police.

In a police interview, the former Watson mayor discussed mind control and shadow government, according to the criminal complaint.

On Jan. 10, the Chippewa County Sheriff's Office became aware of several ranting, threatening posts on the Facebook page of "All Time Curbing & Landscape," which police knew to be Rongstad's business, according to the criminal complaint.

Among the threats was that he would go to Minneapolis to shoot University of Minnesota students, authorities noted.

"Lots of people are going to die," he wrote, according to police.

In response to these posts, schools in Chippewa County and others in the region went on lockdown, in addition to the safety measures taken back on the Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.

A SWAT team arrived at Rongstad's home in Watson and he was eventually taken into custody just after 6 p.m., authorities said. A search of the house turned up "several boxes and rounds" of shotgun ammo, according to prosecutors.

In a police interview, Rongstad talked about how back when he was the mayor of Watson, "he started catching onto government stuff, such as, mind reading, MK Ultra-mind control, and shadow government," the criminal complaint states, adding: "Rongstad talked about the NSA, pentagon, and the Klein Family. Rongstad did not know anyone specifically in the Klein family but referred to this family being involved in the NSA and U of M (he referred to knowing this information through mind control)."

Rongstad also said his objective with his Facebook posts was to get the United States Secret Service out to speak with him, according to investigators.