Ohio State Shooting Threat: California Man Gets Year In Prison

COLUMBUS, OH — A California man was sentenced to a year in prison this week after threatening a shooting at Ohio State University, prosecutors say.

Daniel Lee Rippy, 29, of Livermore, California also threatened to hurt OSU football players, and injure or kill players, their family members and the head coach, according to a news release from the Department of Justice U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio.

The threats were made over Facebook during a 2018 football game in which OSU took on the rival University of Michigan team. Law enforcement officials scrambled to investigate the threats as 100,000 fans were packed in the stadium.

Court documents show Rippy sent an electronic message to OSU that read, "Your school is going to get shot the f— up and I'm seriously going to hurt the students and all the players from the football team," Bay Area News Group previously reported.

Law enforcement officials were initially concerned because Rippy had ties to Michigan, according to the news release. They thought he could easily travel to the region or already be at the game, though they determined he made the threats from California and was not an immediate threat.

He was arrested Dec. 19 and released on bond, then re-arrested and transported to Columbus after he failed to appear at an appointment with the court.

Rippy pleaded guilty to making an interstate threat in July 2020. Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley imposed the sentence on Wednesday.