An Emery County, Utah man has been taken into custody after allegedly posting violent threats directed at people wearing red at the upcoming BYU vs. Utah football game. The suspect, Christopher Tai Justice, 28, of Huntington, was booked into the Emery County Jail on suspicion of making a threat of violence and obstruction of justice. The BYU Cougars are hosting the Utah Utes in the rivalry dubbed the “Holy War” on Saturday night.
According to court documents and statements from law enforcement, Justice used a social media account under the handle @juiceisloose328 to write posts such as:
“Nah, anyone wearing red on Saturday is getting shot,”“Enjoy a bullet to the head,”“Any Ute fan (I) see is dead. Mark my words,”“I’ll never forget the amount of hatred I felt for Utah sitting front row for the 54-10 beat down in 2011.”
The account later posted an apology and said it would deactivate, but not before users flagged it to authorities.
Investigators from local, state, and federal agencies traced the account to Justice. When authorities approached him at his home, Justice initially denied any involvement. However, officers discovered the social media app on his iPad and forensic evidence linking his phone to the account.
Text messages between Justice and a friend revealed discussions about deactivating the account, and in the messages he allegedly said, “I’ll say I didn’t post them or it’s not my account if it goes this far,” if confronted by police. Eventually, when presented with evidence, Justice admitted to writing the posts, telling authorities he lied because he was “scared of what could happen.”
Justice has a prior record, including convictions for driving on a revoked license and DUI. At the time of his arrest, he was on probation for a second DUI conviction.
BYU vs. Utah is set to kick off at 6:00 p.m. MT on Saturday in Provo. The two teams will meet for the second time as members of the Big 12 Conference.
