Editor's note: The video above first aired in December of 2023.
When former St. Olaf College student Waylon Kurts was first arrested in April of 2023, police and prosecutors thought a plot for a campus shooting had been foiled.
Kurts was charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit threats of violence, terroristic threats, and a less serious count of conspiracy to commit theft.
Prosecutors presented text message screenshots between Kurts and Nate Mays, a friend of his from Vermont, as alleged evidence of a conspiracy. Kurts has always maintained that he is a recreational firearms enthusiast and was just chatting on that topic with his like-minded friend.
Now a judge seems to agree, dismissing two of the counts against Kurts and citing a lack of evidence the defendant was conspiring with anyone to commit assault or threats of violence.
"Both individuals spent a significant amount of time discussing firearms, firearm builds, and performance of certain builds, as well as purchasing parts for firearms," District Court Judge Christine Long wrote in her order. "However, there is no evidence that either party communicated with the other regarding threats or plans to engage in either threats of violence or second-degree assault."
Judge Long pointed out that the text messages appear to show Kurts buying ammunition magazines in Minnesota for Mays that are not legal in Vermont, but opined that there is no inference that the friends were planning an attack at St. Olaf College campus.
Kurts was also charged with terroristic threats, and Judge Long ruled there is enough probable cause to allow that count to proceed to trial.
In April 2023, a St. Olaf College custodian at Larson Hall found two empty packages for firearm magazines outside Kurts' dorm room. When St. Olaf Public Safety and Northfield Police officers searched his room they also found a tactical vest, empty ammo boxes, extended magazines, smoke grenade packages, and other tactical gear. In addition, law enforcement found notebooks with a hand-drawn floorplan of the Skoglund Athletic Facility, including arrows from the door of the weight room pointing toward the pool doors.
No guns or ammunition were ever found.
Prosecutors argued that by leaving the two empty high-capacity magazine boxes in the trash where they could be seen by St. Olaf College staff and students, and by stockpiling tactical gear and firearm parts at the school, Kurts made an indirect threat in reckless disregard of causing terror.
Judge Long agreed that Kurts knew possessing firearm parts would cause extreme fear and that he disposed of packages for high-capacity magazines in a public trash can in conscious disregard of that knowledge. Therefore, Judge Long ruled there is probable cause for the terroristic threats charge.
"The Court acknowledges that law enforcement never located any firearms or ammunition and that no individual reported that Defendant ever made threats against anyone. However, the relevant inquiry at this stage is whether there is probable cause to support the allegation," Judge Long wrote.
The next step in the case is to schedule a trial for the felony terroristic threats charge. Kurts is also charged with a misdemeanor conspiracy to commit theft charge stemming from notebook writings about stealing ammunition from Walmart. That charge will also be set for trial.
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