24-year-old John Edgar Rust is in police custody nearly two years after threatening to murder African Americans at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The Alexandria, Virginia resident made an anonymous post on the website 4Chan, spewing racial slurs and threatening to murder black people. Rust concluded his rant, posted on Nov. 11, 2015, by stating, "After all, it's not murder if they're black."

The incident prompted Howard University to increase security on campus and nearby Metro stations. NBC Washington News 4 reported that investigators were able to trace the online threat to a Panera Bread restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia. According to FBI affidavit, agents determined that Rust's computer was connected to the locations Wi-Fi network and he had used his credit card to make a purchase at the restaurant that day.

A convicted felon and sex offender, Rust has been charged and faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison if he's convicted. He is set to appear before a federal judge on Thursday afternoon.