A former SIU student faces charges of alleged assault, disorderly conduct and harassment of a witness following two incidents, one involving the alleged harassment of an SIU police officer, State’s Attorney Mike Wepsiec says.

Scott Whatcott, 21, of Carbondale and for SIU law student, was arrested for alleged assault and a hate crime Jan. 30 at Southern Hills, a housing facility on campus, SIU police said.

Although Whatcott was arrested for an alleged hate crime, Wepsiec said he has not charged Whatcott with that crime.

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In a hate crime, it is generally difficult to prove intent, he said. I charge someone with crimes I think I can prove.

Police said they were unable to comment about specific details of the arrest but said a hate crime occurs when a crime is committed against a person because of the person’s race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

Since that incident, which resulted in the charges of assault and disorderly conduct, Whatcott has allegedly harassed the arresting officer, SIU Police Sgt. Steve Ellis, Wepsiec said.

Court records say that on Jan. 31, after Whatcott was released from jail, he allegedly telephoned Ellis and said, We had some fun last night. We’ll have some more fun tonight.

Whatcott was allegedly referring to the surveillance that Ellis had conducted near Whatcott’s residence, according to court records. Ellis was watching the residence to ensure that no harm came to Whatcott’s neighbors, court records say.

On Feb. 1, Whatcott allegedly called SIU Police Chief Sam Jordan and stated:We’ll have round three tonight, court records say.

Later that evening, Whatcott was reportedly seen leaving his residence carrying a package. Approximately 30 minutes later, a package addressed to Ellis was found at the front doorway of the SIU Police Department, court records say.

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A bomb squad and detection dog from Scott Air Force Base were called to examine the package. The package contained the makings of an explosive device:several layers of aluminum foil, a ticking alarm clock and some dental-floss-like material attached to the clock. The package also contained a note addressed to Ellis signed Scott W. and a law text book, according to court records.

Whatcott was charged with harassing a witness on Feb. 2 and was released after posting $1,000 bond, police said.

According to court records, police obtained a warrant to search Whatcott’s residence, and items including a telephone listening device and a voice-disguising telephone accessory box were found.

Police also discovered literature on scanner frequencies, assault weapons, booby-trap devices, bomb detonation techniques, militias, the making of bombs, making nitroglycerine, stealing chemicals from labs and instructions on building ammonium nitrate fuel oil bombs, according to the court records.

The records show that Whatcott is now prohibited from entering or remaining on SIUC property, including his residence at Southern Hills.

George Basanta, associate dean of the School of Law, confirmed that Whatcott is no longer a student.

He was dismissed from the School of Law last week, Basanta said. But I cannot comment on the reason for his dismissal.

Terry Huffman, Student Judicial Affairs coordinator, would not comment on whether or not University charges would be filed against Whatcott.