Emporia Man Arrested for Social Media Threats that Led to School Closings

EMPORIA – Following the closure of schools in Lunenburg County last Monday because of an online threat to the Lunenburg County Sheriff’s Office and an investigation, an arrest was made. The Lunenburg County Sheriff’s Office announced that they arrested a 30-year-old Emporia man, Nicholas Jamal Rhodes, for allegedly making threats that led to the closure of Lunenburg schools.

The Virginia State Police High-Tech Crimes Division successfully traced the source of the message leading to the charges of a felony of communicating a threat to cause injury to persons on school property.

Lunenburg County Sheriff Arthur Townsend stated, “We were able to determine that the perpetrator was motivated by his anger toward an acquaintance over a certain issue and wanted to get him into trouble,” Townsend said. “He used an old Facebook page of the acquaintance and sent the threat to the Sheriff’s Office Facebook account.”

The release from law enforcement said that Rhodes used spoofing to send the threat in order to make it appear as though it was coming from a different person.

Sheriff Townsend stated, “I am grateful for the cooperation of the school administration and all local law enforcement for stepping up to ensure the safety of our students and staff at the schools. I know it was difficult for parents to be patient, but these types of investigations take time and I am very pleased at the prompt efforts and response of the state police experts.”

Rhodes was arrested Wednesday in Emporia and taken to Southside Regional Jail. 

There was additional police presence at the schools in Lunenburg as students returned. Many area residents praised both school officials and local law enforcement for taking precautions to protect students and staff.