An Ohio university detained a student after other students overheard her speaking about firearms in late April.
Kent State University detained student Leandra Westbrook after student cadets reported that Westbrook had a phone conversation in which she expressed anxiety over carrying a firearm on campus, according to Campus Reform. But Westbrook denies she said that, and alleges that she said “how it is a shame that I cannot carry a gun on campus, considering I have my carry license” in the conversation.
Kent State spokesman Eric Mansfield said that campus police responded to a report of someone who might be carrying a gun in a campus building, which would infringe on university policy. But the spokesman said police confirmed she was not carrying a firearm.
Police detained the student after she had entered an anatomy class to take a test and reported being “too shaken up and disturbed to return back to class” while speaking with Campus Reform.
“I do not believe they genuinely thought I was a threat, because I specifically said I had a license to carry,” Westbrook said. “In the conversation I had, there was no way to misinterpret what I said, or to even suggest that I had a gun with me.”
“[I] would not be surprised if the student cadet who reported me was targeting me for being pro-Second Amendment,” the student continued, claiming that she has received vague threats and harassment in the past for her conservative opinions. She believes the cadets could have been aware of those opinions due to her involvement with Kent State’s Students for Life and Turning Point USA chapters.
Westbrook said she would be reporting the student cadets to the police for “falsifying” the report they submitted by alleging she stated that she had a gun and was anxious about getting caught.
Kent State University made headlines in April for kicking a professor accused of sympathizing with ISIS off campus. (RELATED: Accused ISIS-Sympathizing Prof Banned From Campus After Allegedly Lying To The FBI)
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