{
  "id": "2025-09-11-lehigh-university-racially-targeted-email-hoax",
  "slug": "lehigh-university-racially-targeted-email-hoax-2025-09-11",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Lehigh University",
    "shortName": "Lehigh",
    "state": "PA",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "HawkWatch",
    "enrollment": 7800
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-09-11",
    "type": "threat-of-violence",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "resolution": "hoax",
    "headline": "Threat of violence, September 11, 2025",
    "summary": "On September 11, 2025, [members of the Lehigh University community received a disturbing email containing a racially targeted threat](https://thebrownandwhite.com/2025/09/11/lehigh-receives-email-with-racially-targeted-threat-proven-to-be-a-hoax/). LUPD Chief Jason Schiffer received a phone call about the email at 11:03 AM EDT, and the [HawkWatch alert went out at 12:37 PM EDT](https://police.lehigh.edu/content/hawkwatch-alert-log). The FBI joined LUPD's investigation and determined the threat was a hoax, part of a [coordinated wave of threats](https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/latest-news/today-in-security/2025/september/Hoax-Threats-HBCUs/) that hit multiple HBCUs and other institutions the same day.",
    "outcome": "No threat was found; the email was confirmed as a hoax by LUPD working with the FBI. The incident occurred on the same day as a wave of similar threats against historically Black colleges and universities — [multiple HBCUs locked down](https://www.axios.com/2025/09/11/hbcu-lockdown-campus-terrorist-threats) on September 11, 2025 in what was characterized as a coordinated terroristic-threat campaign.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-11T12:53:08-04:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Earlier today, members of the Lehigh University community received a disturbing email including a racially targeted threat to campus. LUPD, in coordination with the FBI, has determined the threat is not credible and that there is no ongoing risk to our community. Multiple campuses across the country were subject to similar coordinated threats today, which have been determined to be hoaxes.\n\nOut of an abundance of caution, LUPD will be increasing its presence across campus.\n\nWe recognize that this message may leave some feeling unsettled. Lehigh Counseling & Psychological Services is available to students for in-person support, and Telus Health offers 24/7 online counseling with multilingual options so students can speak with someone in their native language if desired. Faculty and staff can also seek confidential support through the Lehigh Employee Assistance Plan (EAP). Resources are available for the campus community (https://www2.lehigh.edu/news/support-resources).\n\nAs always, we encourage the campus community to be vigilant and aware of your surroundings. Report any suspicious persons or behavior to LUPD at (610) 758-4200.\n\nJason Schiffer\nAssociate Vice President of Campus Safety & Chief of Police\nLehigh University Police Department",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "Lehigh HawkWatch / AppArmor CAP — Notification: Campus threat determined to be a hoax (Sept 11, 2025)",
      "annotations": [
        "Recovered verbatim from official Lehigh AppArmor CAP notification page (HawkWatch Alert Log); email-format community notice from Chief Jason Schiffer",
        "Message covers both the receipt of the racially targeted threat email and the FBI/LUPD determination that it was a coordinated multi-campus hoax"
      ],
      "characterCount": 1256,
      "sourceUrl": "https://lehigh.apparmor.com/Notifications/CAP/?id=191491&t=562923412"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "follow-up",
      "timestampApprox": "Late afternoon September 11, 2025",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from The Brown and White's reporting that Lehigh confirmed 'the threat is not credible' after working with the FBI and that 'multiple campuses across the country were subject to similar coordinated threats that day'",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "On September 11, 2025, [Lehigh University community members received an emailed threat](https://thebrownandwhite.com/2025/09/11/lehigh-receives-email-with-racially-targeted-threat-proven-to-be-a-hoax/) that explicitly targeted racial-minority students. Lehigh Police Chief Jason Schiffer received a phone call about the email at 11:03 AM EDT. After confirming the email was real and assessing credibility, Lehigh's senior administration directed LUPD to issue a HawkWatch alert at 12:37 PM EDT. The FBI joined LUPD's investigation, and within hours the email was [determined to be a hoax](https://thebrownandwhite.com/2025/09/11/lehigh-receives-email-with-racially-targeted-threat-proven-to-be-a-hoax/). The day was a difficult one nationally: [multiple historically Black colleges and universities locked down](https://www.axios.com/2025/09/11/hbcu-lockdown-campus-terrorist-threats) on September 11, 2025 in what was characterized by the [Security Management trade press](https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/latest-news/today-in-security/2025/september/Hoax-Threats-HBCUs/) as a coordinated terroristic-threat campaign. Lehigh's inclusion in the wave (as a predominantly white institution but one with a meaningful Black and minority student population) was significant; the FBI's nationwide investigation linked the day's threats but had not, as of early 2026, publicly identified suspects. The incident was Lehigh's third major HawkWatch alert of 2025, following the [January 30 active-shooter swatting](https://news.lehigh.edu/follow-up-from-false-active-shooter-incident) and the [April 17 BB-gun projectile incident](https://thebrownandwhite.com/2025/04/17/projectiles-discharged-from-vehicle-near-campus/).",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The 94-minute gap between the 11:03 AM chief's phone call and the 12:37 PM HawkWatch alert reflects deliberate verification — Lehigh chose accuracy over speed because the threat was an email, not a 911 call, and could be cross-referenced",
    "Lehigh's explicit acknowledgment of 'racially targeted' language in the alert text (rather than euphemistic 'concerning content' phrasing) was a transparency choice many peer institutions did not make on the same day",
    "September 11, 2025 marked one of the most coordinated single-day campus-threat campaigns in US history, and Lehigh was among the few predominantly white private institutions targeted alongside HBCUs",
    "Three major HawkWatch alerts in 2025 (January swatting, April projectiles, September racial threat) represent an unusual concentration for a single Patriot League / R1 private institution"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Email with racially targeted threat proven to be a hoax (The Brown and White)",
      "url": "https://thebrownandwhite.com/2025/09/11/lehigh-receives-email-with-racially-targeted-threat-proven-to-be-a-hoax/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Multiple HBCUs locked down after 'terroristic threats' disrupt campus (Axios)",
      "url": "https://www.axios.com/2025/09/11/hbcu-lockdown-campus-terrorist-threats",
      "type": "national-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Hoax Threats Target HBCUs, Causing Disruption on Campuses Across United States (ASIS Security Management)",
      "url": "https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/latest-news/today-in-security/2025/september/Hoax-Threats-HBCUs/",
      "type": "industry-publication"
    },
    {
      "title": "HBCUs on High Alert Following a Series of Threats (Campus Safety Magazine)",
      "url": "https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/news/hbcus-on-high-alert-following-a-series-of-threats/173426",
      "type": "industry-publication"
    },
    {
      "title": "HawkWatch Alert Log (Lehigh University Police Department)",
      "url": "https://police.lehigh.edu/content/hawkwatch-alert-log",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "HawkWatch CAP: Notification — Campus threat determined to be a hoax (Lehigh AppArmor)",
      "url": "https://lehigh.apparmor.com/Notifications/CAP/?id=191491&t=562923412",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "racially-targeted-threat",
    "email-threat",
    "hoax",
    "hbcu-solidarity-wave",
    "patriot-league",
    "private-r1",
    "pennsylvania",
    "bethlehem",
    "hawkwatch",
    "fbi-investigation"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-14",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}