Iowa City police are holding a black woman who’s a University of Iowa dental student in connection with a string of race-related death threats and bomb threats on campus. 23-year-old Tarsha Marsha Claiborne is charged with six counts of harassment and criminal trespassing as part of a hate crime, and a felony charge connected to threats in violation of civil rights. Claiborne is being held in the Johnson County jail under a 52-thousand dollar bond. Police reportedly have Claiborne on videotape sending the most recent e-mail threat from a U-of-I computer. She apparently lives two apartment buildings away from another minority student who received a threatening package on his doorstep. The box contained spaghetti doused with red food coloring and a note that read “dead black man’s brains.”

Radio Iowa