AUSTIN, Texas — A Nevada man has been arrested for allegedly sending thousands of threatening messages to high-ranking employees within the University of Texas at Austin's athletics department over the course of several months.
According to a July 9 affidavit obtained by KVUE, on June 24, a member of the UT Athletics staff informed the University of Texas at Austin Police Department (UTPD) there were threats to several staff members on Instagram. The suspect in the case was identified as Brian Patrick Solomon of Las Vegas.
The staff member who reported the threats told a detective that most of the messages were directed to one particular member of the UT Athletics staff, to be referred to here as Victim 1. The staff member who made the report shared with the detective multiple profanity-riddled Instagram stories that showed threats against Victim 1, including threats of murder and other physical violence, as well as sexual violence.
The detective spoke with Victim 1, who said threatening posts allegedly from Solomon dated back to at least May 2024 but they were "unsure the exact start date" of when they started receiving the messages. The affidavit also states that the detective viewed a screen recording Victim 1 made scrolling through Instagram direct messages sent by Solomon. After viewing those messages, the detective determined that Solomon appeared to believe he was in a relationship with Victim 1.
A separate affidavit obtained by KVUE states that on July 8, while monitoring Solomon's Instagram account, the detective saw a story posted by Solomon that threatened violence against another member of the UT Athletics staff. Approximately six minutes later, Solomon posted another story, tagging another member of the staff, referred to here as Victim 2.
On July 11, the detective spoke with Victim 2 to discuss the messages. Victim 2 said the messages made them concerned for their family's safety, as the messages were directed toward their family.
KVUE also obtained a federal complaint filed against Solomon that provides more details of the alleged incidents. The complaint was filed for two counts: interstate communications with threat to injure and cyberstalking.
It alleges that Solomon used multiple Instagram accounts to send threatening messages to the victims. It also states that on multiple occasions, Solomon threatened to confront Victim 1 in person. On at least one occasion, the complaint states that Solomon's alleged threats prompted Victim 1 to pay out of pocket to hire security for a public event. Victim 1 also eventually moved from their residence of two years out of fear that Solomon would be able to locate them there.
The complaint states that on Sept. 16, Solomon was arrested by FBI agents. In a statement to law enforcement, Solomon admitted he had used the Instagram accounts identified by detectives and admitted "he had sent a few thousand direct messages to Victim 1" and had become angry with Victim 1. He also admitted to flying to Austin and to sending communications to Victim 2.
According to the complaint, Solomon also "claimed he and Victim 1 were to be married and that he was the second coming of Christ."
A spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Las Vegas told KVUE's media partners at the Austin American-Statesman that Solomon is being detained pending a trial but declined to comment further.