Education

Wyo. student who threatened to rape self on Facebook was convicted of assault

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The 28-year-old University of Wyoming student who allegedly threatened herself with rape in a Facebook hoax in April was convicted of aggravated assault in 2005 after she brandished a gun at an employer who fired her.

Meg Lanker-Simons, now a newly-minted UW graduate, was charged with interference with a police investigation after she allegedly posted on an anonymous Facebook forum that she wanted to engage in angry sexual intercourse — with someone named “Meg Lanker Simons.”

The posting on UW Crushes read:

“I want to hatefuck Meg Lanker Simons so hard. That chick runs her liberal mouth all the time and doesn’t care who knows it. I think its so hot and makes me angry. One night with me and shes gonna be a good Republican bitch.”

It turns out that the April 24 incident isn’t the strident leftist’s first rodeo in Wyoming’s criminal system. As the Laramie Boomerang reports, Lanker-Simons had an aggravated assault conviction in 2005 as the result of a bizarre gun-brandishing incident.

After Lanker-Simons was fired from a radio station in the fall of 2005, she returned and pulled a Glock 22 .40 caliber handgun from her purse. She waved the semi-automatic pistol around. She pointed it at the man who sacked her. He testified that he was “in fear for his life,” notes the Boomerang.

The radio station was evacuated. Police caught Lanker-Simons as she tried to flee the scene in her vehicle. They held her at gunpoint.

In July 2006, Lanker-Simons — then known as Meghan Michelena — was sentenced to six years of probation. Her term of probation was subject to a number of conditions. She had to undergo counseling, complete community service, pay fines and apologize to her victims. She was also prevented from owning any guns.

The alleged Facebook hoax brought national attention to the Cowboy State’s flagship college. Initially, the administration stood firmly behind Lanker-Simons. “No student should have to deal with such threatening language,” said one sternly-worded official statement. A school official also denounced “rape culture,” according to KOWB.

Concerned fellow feminists also threw a rally for Lanker-Simons — complete with all manner of signs condemning rape threats — before police concluded that Lanker-Simons herself was behind the threats.

This month, Lanker-Simons participated in the University of Wyoming’s commencement ceremonies despite the charges against her. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Lanker-Simons is also a blogger and a local radio host.

In 2010, Lanker-Simons and Bill Ayers sued the University of Wyoming after school officials decided to cancel a speech by Ayers, a former Weather Underground radical and mentor to President Obama. Also in 2010, her husband, Andrew Simons, ran a failed Democratic campaign for Wyoming secretary of state.

According to the Boomerang, the interference charge is a misdemeanor punishable by a prison sentence up to a year and a fine up to $1,000.

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