Elgin man accused of making school threat on social media

A 23-year-old Elgin man was charged with threatening a school after police said he made a general social media post Tuesday with a picture of a rifle and the words "Don't come to school tomorrow."

Miguel A. Soto, of the 400 block of Miller Drive, was charged after an investigation by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, which contacted Elgin police after seeing the post on Snapchat, police said Thursday.

"The threat was generalized and not specific to a particular school in the Elgin area," police said on Facebook.

Soto was charged with threatening a school building, a felony, according to Kane County court records.

"We appreciate our federal partners as together we quickly resolved this situation to ensure the safety of this community," Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley said in a department Facebook post.

Kane County Judge Julia Yetter set Soto's bail at $30,000 Thursday, meaning he must post $3,000 to be released from the county jail while the case is pending.

He is due in court May 16 and faces a punishment of probation to up to three years in prison if convicted.

According to court records, Soto does not have any previous felony arrests in Kane County but was arrested in April 2015 by Illinois State Police on a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession.

He pleaded guilty, was fined $600 and was issued a year of court supervision, which he completed, records show.

Soto also was ticketed in February 2017 for possession of drug paraphernalia, records show. He pleaded guilty and was fined $155, which he has not paid, records show.