Omaha Man Arrested for Threatening to Kill Governor’s Grandkids in Mass School Shooting

by John Gage

(Picture credit Nebraska State Patrol)

OMAHA – An Omaha man is behind bars after he allegedly threatened to shoot up the Columbus school that Governor Jim Pillen’s grandkids attend. Ean Halstead, 32, was arrested by the Nebraska State Patrol on Friday in Omaha after a standoff with authorities.

Halstead was charged with felony accounts of making terroristic threats and tampering with physical evidence. According to court documents, Halstead is alleged to have written on the school’s Facebook page, “I’m going to shoot up this school and kill Jim Pillen’s children and a few nuns for f—ing funsies.”

The username of the post was “Bobby McGee” but authorities were able to track down Halstead using an IP address tied to the account. Authorities said eight calls were made to Pillen’s office from a phone connected to Halstead minutes before the threat was posted online.

According to court documents, Halstead has a “history of violent tendencies” including a protection order from an ex-boyfriend after Halstead allegedly brandished a knife and threatened to “kill him and their dogs while they slept.”

Halstead allegedly also told the ex-boyfriend that he “fantasized about killing him” and lit his apartment on fire.

A spokesperson for Pillen’s office told WOWT in a statement: “We are extremely grateful to the dedicated investigators of the Nebraska State Patrol and allied law enforcement agencies for their quick and thorough work to track down this individual and ensure the security of the First Family. We have zero tolerance for political violence here in Nebraska, including threats to carry it out. If you threaten violence against a public official or their family in this state, you will be found and held accountable. The heated political rhetoric that too often leads to radicalization and violence must cool off.”

— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.