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Man accused of writing violent manifesto indicted after Boulder arrest

One count accuses Matthew Harris of lying when he tried to purchase a weapon in Jefferson County last November.

BOULDER, Colo. — The man arrested in Boulder who is accused of writing a lengthy manifesto threatening violence and then emailing it to people on the UCLA campus earlier this year has been formally indicted on four counts, federal court records.

Around 2 p.m. on Jan. 31, Matthew Harris sent an email to approximately 35 people directing them to a Google Drive containing an 803-page “manifesto” titled “death sentences” by Dr. Matthew C Harris, an affidavit says.

According to the document, he also directed them to his YouTube channel which contained a video called “UCLA PHILOSOPHY (MASS SHOOTING)”. It depicted him talking with images from the 2003 movie "Zero Day," which depicts a movie version of the surveillance cameras at the Columbine school shooting, the document says.

>The video above aired in early February shortly after Harris' arrest

Several of the recipients of the email contacted the FBI and as a result of the threats, all in-person classes were canceled at UCLA.

RELATED: Man wrote 'burn and attack Boulder' in violent 800-page manifesto, police say

On that same day, an agent briefly reviewed the 803-page document and through a word search found that violent phrases and terms were mentioned with an "alarming frequency."

Investigators did an emergency ping on Harris' cell phone on Jan. 31 and learned he was in Boulder. On that afternoon, CU Police responded to Harris' address and briefly saw him exit his residence yelling profanities and appearing to be highly agitated, the affidavit says.

Officers briefly lost visual sight of Harris, but then heard more yelling coming from his apartment. He spoke with an officer through his door around 1:30 a.m. but refused to come out, the document says.

Harris was taken into custody around 11 a.m. that day without incident and all shelter-in-place orders were lifted.

The indictment

He was indicted on Feb. 22 on two counts related to sending threatening communication by email.

RELATED: Man arrested in Boulder sent threatening email more than a year before his arrest

The third count relates to his attempt to purchase a firearm in Jefferson County last November even though a protection order was in place preventing him from legally purchasing a gun. It accuses Harris of making a false statement to the Silver Bullet Gun Range, which included statements to them that he had never been committed to a mental institution. 

On June 7, 2021, a three-year Temporary Restraining Order was granted in Los Angeles County, the affidavit says. It barred Harris from California college campuses and barred him from possessing any weapons.

In addition, the affidavit says Harris was committed for about a month to a mental hospital around April 2021.

Count four accuses Harris of "knowingly possessing" ammunition even though he was not legally allowed to have it due to his prior mental health history.

If convicted on counts three through four, Harris must forfeit all firearms and ammunition which were used during his alleged crimes.

Also on Wednesday, a judge ordered that Harris be detained pending trial.

He faces up to five years in prison on each of the first two counts. Counts three and four each carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison.

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