FBI investigating note which threatened Ole Miss trees in The Grove
The FBI is investigating a note sent to the University of Mississippi which appeared to threaten the trees in The Grove, the popular Ole Miss tailgating location, the school announced Wednesday.
The note arrived Tuesday and was handwritten. It read (sic throughout):
"What's going to happen to ya'll on the field Saturday Aint nothing compared to what's going to happen on your beautiful campus. You won't be one of the most pretty campus's Next year. A lot of shrubs and trees are going to die; especially in the grove. Can't stop us"
It was signed, "Hail State Go to Hell TSUN." TSUN stands for "that school up north."
Ole Miss plays Mississippi State at home on Saturday.
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Calvin Sellers, the chief of the Ole Miss police department, said authorities are taking the note seriously and are asking fans to report suspicious activity. Additional resources have been deployed to keep fans safe inside and outside the stadium, Sellers said.
In 2010, Alabama fan Harvey Updyke poisoned the iconic oaks at Toomer's Corner on the campus of Auburn University. Updyke later pleaded guilty to criminal damage of an agricultural facility and was sentenced to five years probation and six months in prison. He was also ordered to pay Auburn $800,000.
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