FIU Student Arrested on Felony Threat Charge Sets Up GoFundMe for Legal Defense

A Florida International University student facing a felony charge after messages she sent in a campus WhatsApp group chat were reported to police as a bomb threat has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover her legal costs and academic expenses.
 

Gabriela Saldana, 23, was arrested in the early hours of April 17, Friday, after FIU campus police investigated a supposed threat transmitted to a large student group discussing an upcoming event at the university’s Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

According to the arrest report, Saldana made the threat in a WhatsApp group chat of about 215 students. The students were discussing an event scheduled for Friday at the university’s Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

In the messages, Saldana appeared to want the event rescheduled and invoked the name of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asking him to “drop some bonbons” on Capstone students at the venue. In bond court, an FIU Police officer alleged that Saldaña also wrote that there was going to be a bomb in the building, blaming another student in the chat.

Netanyahu, if you can hear me, drop some bonbons for us Capstone students in Ocean Bank Convocation Center”

“There is going to be a bomb in the Ocean Bank Convocation Center and it was going to be Jonathan’s fault”

Saldana later described the messages as a “dumb joke,” saying they were meant to express frustration and possibly force the event to be rescheduled. She also edited the post to include an apologetic note.

Judge Mindy S. Glazer addressed the question of intent directly from the bench, drawing a distinction between what the sender believed she was doing and how the messages would appear to an outside observer, saying there was enough for probable cause. Bail was set at $5,000.

The charge Saldana faces — written threats to kill or do bodily harm under Florida Statute 836.10 — is classified as a second-degree felony carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Her brother Alan Saldana set up the GoFundMe, describing Gabriela as a dual-major student known to those close to her as “driven, responsible, and always willing to help others.” The campaign is seeking $7,500 to cover legal fees and related academic costs. As of this writing, it has raised $370.

GFM: gofundme.com/f/support-gabriela-saldanas-legal-representation