Ahead of Saturday’s matchup between Utah and BYU, a 28-year-old Utah man allegedly started making threats against the University of Utah and was arrested. Christopher Tai Justice of Huntington, Utah, was taken into custody and booked into Emery County Jail after investigators linked him to the X account @juiceisloose328. The arrest involved coordination between the FBI, Provo Police Department, BYU Police Department, and Emery County authorities. 

Justice posted multiple threatening messages on October 14, including “I’ll be in LES (LaVell Edwards Stadium) Saturday. Any Ute fan I see is d–d. Mark my words.” This is when another user by the handle of RedbeardedNinja intervened and asked him to “Log Off.” To this, Justice replied, “nah, anyone wearing red on Saturday is getting s–t.” He also allegedly posted one more tweet saying, “Come to (LaVell Edwards Stadium) and enjoy a b—et to the head.” The threats were reported to the police by redbeardedninja, whose real name is Spencer. He said he has attended games at both schools and felt compelled to act. 

“This one escalated quite a bit, and as soon as he mentioned shooting anything or anyone, whether it be a Utah fan or a BYU fan, I knew I needed to screenshot that and report it,” Spencer told KUTV. “With what we live in these days, you can turn something as simple as that just by stopping it and reporting it, saving lives, and you never know if anyone’s actually going to take action on that.”

When law enforcement and a probation officer arrived at Justice’s home, he initially denied owning an X account. When he was shown the threatening posts, Justice reportedly told officers, “they were horrible,” and he “would never say anything like that.”

However, investigators discovered the X app on Justice’s iPad during a search of his home, and the probation officer matched the serial number of Justice’s cellphone to information provided by the Utah Statewide Information and Analysis Center linking it to the threatening account.

Police also uncovered text messages between Justice and a friend in which Justice discussed deactivating the account and stated, “I’ll say I didn’t post them or it’s not my account if it goes this far,” when discussing the possibility of being confronted by police. When presented with this evidence, Justice admitted to making the posts and told investigators he lied because he was “scared of what could happen.”

The arrest occurred on the same day that University of Utah President Taylor Randall and BYU President Shane Reese released a joint video urging fans to maintain civility during the annual “Holy War” rivalry game. This marks the first time since 2009 that both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25 poll. 

Police continue to investigate the case, and authorities have indicated that threats of violence made online are taken seriously and can lead to felony charges. The FBI is reportedly reviewing Justice’s full digital footprint, and federal charges could still be filed, according to Rogers. Justice was released after appearing in court, but will not attend Saturday’s game due to an ankle bracelet monitoring his home confinement. Authorities remind fans that online anonymity does not protect them from prosecution for threats of violence.​

The citizen reporting

Spencer, the sports fan who reported Justice’s posts to authorities, expressed satisfaction with the swift law enforcement response in subsequent social media posts. “I am very proud of how fast we took action and reported that!” Spencer wrote after news of the arrest became public.

In another post, Spencer revealed that Justice had directly communicated with him during their online exchange, stating, “he told me that the police wouldn’t find him lol!” The interaction shows the false sense of security many individuals feel when making threats online, believing anonymity or the informal nature of social media platforms protects them from consequences. Spencer’s decision to screenshot the threats and immediately report them to multiple law enforcement agencies proved critical to the rapid identification and apprehension of Justice before Saturday’s game.

The case shows the evolving approach law enforcement agencies take toward online threats. Spencer referenced the sh—ing at a Charlie Kirk event in Utah when explaining his decision to report the posts. He said that previous incidents have reinforced the “see something, say something” principle. Former FBI Special Agent Greg Rogers emphasized that the days of informal warnings for online threats have ended, with agencies now moving to immediate arrest when threats are specific and direct.