Black woman who accused of threatening black Kean students wants probation

A former Kean University student charged with making threats targeting black students on campus via a series of Twitter posts — even though she's black herself — is seeking approval to enter a probation program that could result in the charges being expunged from her record, NJ Advance Media reported.

Kayla-Simone McKelvey, 24, of Union was charged with creating a false public alarm, which is a third-degree crime and carries a maximum penalty of five years if convicted. She appeared before Judge William Daniel Thursday morning after previously pleading not guilty to the charge in December.

The woman's attorney, Thomas Ashley, told the judge that McKelvey planned to apply for pre-trial intervention, according to NJ Advance Media. PTI is a probation program for first-time offenders that could enable the court to completely remove the charges once the terms are completed.

In December, Acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park said McKelvey left a student rally against racial crimes on Nov. 17, went off to a computer station inside a library and created an anonymous Twitter account she used to tweet the threats.

McKelvey, returned to the rally and helped spread the word among students about the threats,according to Park, Several threats were tweeted against black students that claimed there was a bomb on campus. Another read, “I will shoot any black person i see at kean university(sic).”

Park said there was no plan to follow through with any of the threats.