Two members of UF's Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity were released from jail Wednesday after they were arrested Tuesday afternoon for threatening to harm a member of a neighboring fraternity.
According to University Police Department arrest reports, Benjamin Berteau, 21, and Peter Kimmel, 18, sent numerous threatening e-mails to Chi Phi Fraternity member Anthony Zara, 18, after they said they saw a picture of Zara urinating on SAE's lion statue.
According to Kimmel's arrest report, in one e-mail he told Zara he would like to meet with him about the picture, and that at the end of their meeting, Zara would have two broken legs. Kimmel wrote, "I hope you never made fun of Terry (Schiavo) because that could be you in a couple of days."
Kimmel was charged with sending a written threat to kill or injure, a second-degree felony.
He told police he never intended to hurt Zara, and was only trying to "mess with his head," the report stated.
Berteau sent Zara six e-mails, each with threatening subject lines but no content. The subjects included, "You are so completely f-ed" and "Get ready for a living hell," according to Berteau's arrest report.
He was charged with aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony.
Zara told police he was very afraid for his safety after reading the e-mails, especially because he did not know who had sent them or what the senders' intentions were.
Ryan Plate, SAE's president, said he had spoken with the president of Chi Phi and the two agreed that the incident was not a reflection of the relationship between the two fraternities, which are located next door to each other on Fraternity Row.
"There is a 100 percent understanding that this is not an organizational matter at all," Plate said.
He said he also met with university officials and was told there would be no consequences for SAE.
