A man has been arrested ahead of the highly anticipated intra-state “Holy War” college football game between the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, after police say he threatened to shoot rival fans.
Christopher Tai Justice, 28, was taken into custody after authorities say he was linked to an online account threatening fans of the Utah Utes, despite initially denying he had made the posts.
The annual game between the Utes and the BYU Cougars is due to take place Saturday and is known to be one of the many historically fierce rivalries in college football – having run for over 100 years.
The Utah Department of Corrections said Justice was booked into Emery County Jail on Tuesday after he was confronted about the posts, made by the X account @juiceisloose328.
“I’ll be in LES [LaVell Edwards Stadium] Saturday. Any Ute fan I see is dead. Mark my words,” one post read.
After another user responded, telling Justice to “log off,” he’s accused of replying, “nah anyone wearing red on Saturday is getting shot.”
Justice initially denied to investigators that he had an X account and said that the posts were “horrible” when confronted with them, according to court documents obtained by KUTV. He reportedly told police that he would “never say anything like that.”
But investigators say they later found text messages between Justice and a friend, in which he claimed he would deny making the posts if they were escalated by authorities. He then said he had lied because he was “scared of what would happen”, according to authorities.
The 28-year-old was booked on misdemeanor charges of threat of violence and obstruction of justice. He was reportedly out on probation following two DUI convictions within 10 years.
Justice’s arrest came on the same day as a joint video by the presidents of UU and BYU, in which they urged fans to keep the rivalry respectful.
Many incidents have occurred over the years including a triple pitch invasion by fans in 2012, in which Utes fans were penalized for celebrating too early – before eventually going on to win.
Though perhaps the most infamous incident of the “Holy War” came in 1999, when Utah cheerleader William Priddis punched a BYU fan after he was chased down and tackled from behind following a touchdown.
“Priddis repeatedly punched the fan, who was detained for the remainder of the game,” the Deseret News reported at the time.
In 2018, both team’s athletic directors, Mark Harlan and Tom Holmoe, released a joint statement in which they asked their fans “to treat each other and this game with the respect it deserves as one of the longest rivalry series in the country.”
