FIU Student Gabriela Saldana Arrested After WhatsApp Threat In Ocean Bank Convocation Center

A Florida International University student, identified in multiple reports as 23-year-old Gabriela Saldana, was arrested after police said a message in a WhatsApp group chat posed a threat of violence at a campus event.

“A 23-year-old Florida International University student is facing a felony charge after two messages she sent in a 215-person student WhatsApp group chat drew a swift response from campus police and, eventually, a Miami-Dade bond court”

International Business Times UK

The messages were sent in a group chat of around 215 students discussing an event at the university’s Ocean Bank Convocation Center, and the university later confirmed the arrest in a statement.

International Business Times UK

In one message, Saldana wrote: “[Israel’s Benjamin] Netanyahu, if you can hear me, drop some bonbons for us Capstone students in Ocean Bank Convocation Center.”

Authorities said she followed it with a more direct statement: “There is going to be a bomb in the Ocean Bank Convocation Center and it was going to be Jonathan’s fault.”

The Times of India said Saldana was taken into custody last week and later appeared in bond court, where her bail was set at $5,000, while International Business Times UK reported she was arrested in the early hours of 17 April 2026 and appeared before Judge Mindy S. Glazer.

International Business Times UK also reported she was taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and that her bail was set at £3,960 ($5,000).

The university issued a statement confirming the arrest and said: “An FIU student has been arrested for making a credible and imminent threat of violence at a planned university event.”

It added that “the suspect identified a specific date, time and venue” and that “There is no further threat to the university community.”

During the bond court proceedings, Judge Mindy S. Glazer addressed the question of intent and how the messages would be perceived by an objective reader.

The Times of India quoted the judge saying: “I can understand your position when you are saying this is a joke, but to an objective person, it’s not a joke, and it would be enough for probable cause.”

News18

The judge continued, “I'm not saying it’s enough for beyond a reasonable doubt,” and added that “for purposes of this hearing, I believe there is enough for probable cause.”

News18 similarly reported that Glazer said those types of messages aren’t funny and repeated the same probable-cause reasoning, including “I can understand your position when you are saying this is a joke, but to an objective person, it’s not a joke.”

Open Magazine also included Glazer’s comments and stated that Saldana told officers the message was intended as a joke, while “students in the chat did not interpret it that way.”

International Business Times UK reported that Glazer declined to find probable cause for a “prejudice enhancement attached to the original charge, and that portion was dismissed.”

It also said the charge was written threats to kill or do bodily harm under Florida Statute 836.10, classified as a second-degree felony carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Across the reports, Saldana’s own follow-up message was consistent: “I wrote a dumb joke that should not have been made.”

Multiple reports described how campus police treated the WhatsApp messages as a serious threat rather than humor, and they tied the arrest to the way the messages were written and shared.

“'Not A Joke': US Court Fines Florida Student For Asking Netanyahu To 'Bomb' Her College FIU student Gabriela Saldana was arrested for allegedly asking Netanyahu in a group chat to "drop bombs" on her college”

News18

The Times of India said police told reporters the messages posed a threat of violence at a campus event, and it described the group chat as one where students were discussing an upcoming event at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

It reported that Saldana responded in the chat with: “I wrote a dumb joke that should not have been made,” and said police later reported she admitted to sending the messages.

News18 similarly said the messages were not treated as humour by the students in the group and described the WhatsApp screenshots that included “[Israel’s Benjamin] Netanyahu, if you can hear me, drop some bonbons for us Capstone students in Ocean Bank Convocation Center.”

It also quoted the second message: “There is going to be a bomb in the Ocean Bank Convocation Center and it was going to be Jonathan’s fault.”

Open Magazine added another message attributed to Saldana: “@Netanyahu can you please drop bombs on FIU. Finals are next week and I'm not ready.”

International Business Times UK reported that the arrest report stated Saldana “did so in a manner in which it may be viewed by another person and intended the threat to be a true threat.”

It further said FIU campus police officers arrested her shortly after 2:10 a.m. at an address corresponding to a parking garage at 8th Street and 109th Avenue on campus.

NDTV’s account said FIU police worked with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office to identify the student.

In the same set of reports, the university’s statement characterized the threat as “credible and imminent” and said the suspect identified “a specific date, time and venue.”

The reports diverged in emphasis and in how they described the legal process, even while repeating the same core WhatsApp text and the same judge.

The Times of India described the arrest as beginning with a message in a student chat and said Saldana was arrested last week, then appeared in bond court with bail set at $5,000, while it also quoted Fire service-style language about probable cause from Judge Mindy S. Glazer.

The Times of India

News18 framed the case with the headline “Not A Joke” and described the court as fining the student, stating she faced threat charges and a $5000 bond and repeating the judge’s probable-cause comments.

Open Magazine focused on the phrase “Drop Bombs on my College” and said NBC Miami reported the arrest, adding that the arrest report cited a threat “via a WhatsApp group chat” for an event scheduled for Friday, April 10, 2026.

International Business Times UK provided additional procedural detail, saying Saldana was arrested in the early hours of 17 April 2026, taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, and that her bail was set at £3,960 ($5,000).

It also specified the maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and cited Florida Statute 836.10 as the basis for the written threats charge.

NDTV differed by describing the student as “a 20-year-old female student” and by stating she was taken into custody near the main campus in Miami, even though other reports said she was 23.

Despite these differences, all accounts included the judge’s core reasoning that “to an objective person, it’s not a joke,” and all accounts included the university’s statement that “There is no further threat to the university community.”

The next steps in the case, as described in the reports, center on the continuation of proceedings through the Miami-Dade court system and the question of what prosecutors can prove at trial.

“What began as a message in a student chat has ended in an arrest, after police said a ‘joke’ crossed into a serious threat”

The Times of India

International Business Times UK said Glazer’s comments “acknowledge that a trial conviction is not guaranteed, but they confirm the case will proceed through the Miami-Dade court system,” and it tied the legal standard to the probable-cause finding in bond court.

International Business Times UK

The Times of India similarly quoted the judge saying, “I’m not saying it’s enough for beyond a reasonable doubt,” and added, “I don’t know if the state is going to be able to prove it in trial,” while still concluding there was enough for probable cause.

News18 and Open Magazine both said she faces charges of threats to kill or do bodily harm with prejudice, and Open Magazine added that Glazer “said she did not find probable cause for prejudice.”

International Business Times UK specified that the charge is classified as a second-degree felony under Florida Statute 836.10 and carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

The university’s statement also set the immediate campus-security context by saying “Given the ongoing investigation and federal student privacy laws, FIU has no further comment,” while reiterating “There is no further threat to the university community.”

NDTV added that FIU police worked with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office to identify the student, indicating involvement beyond campus authorities.

Together, the reports show a case moving from bond court into the trial phase, with the judge’s probable-cause reasoning and the dismissal of the prejudice enhancement shaping what issues remain for prosecutors and the defense.