Defense attorneys representing a former Thomas S. Wootton High School student charged with threatening mass violence argued Monday in Montgomery County Circuit Court that the teen’s 129-page manifesto about planning to commit a school shooting is a work of fiction and not a plan of action.
Monday marked the first day of the bench trial for Alex Ye, 18, of Rockville, who was arrested April 17 by Montgomery County police. The trial, which continues Tuesday and is expected to conclude Thursday, revolves around the writings of the former Wootton student and whether he presented an actual threat of carrying out a shooting, according to court proceedings.
Ye was arrested April 17 by Montgomery County police and charged with threats of mass violence. On May 30, Ye was indicted by a grand jury with one count of threats of mass violence. The charges stem from a 129-page “fictional story/manifesto about a high school shooting” that Ye sent March 3 to an acquaintance. According to court proceedings, the book includes a story about a transgender male student who thinks about shooting students at school and who is hospitalized for mental health issues.
At the time of his arrest, Montgomery County Public Schools said Ye had not attended in-person classes at Wootton High in Rockville since the fall of 2022. Instead, he had been taking lessons through a virtual program called Online Pathways to Graduation. According to court proceedings, Ye had previously disclosed to a school counselor that he was having thoughts of wanting to carry out a school shooting.
According to police, the acquaintance became concerned because of Ye’s previous comments about wanting to carry out a school shooting and contacted police, according to court proceedings. The witness contacted Baltimore County police, who then contacted Rockville City police.
Ye remained quiet in court while sitting next to his lawyers, Paulette Pagán and David Benowitz of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Price and Benowitz. Pagan and Benowitz argued Ye’s writing was a work of fiction, noting the main character doesn’t follow through with a school shooting or physically harming those around him.
County prosecutors James Dietrich and Karen Mooney countered that the book included striking parallels to Ye’s life and contained details of how the main character would carry out a shooting, which constituted a true threat to the school. Moony and Dietrich also noted Ye’s social media and history of searching for information related to school shootings as well as his former disclosures of thoughts of carrying out a school shooting.
No guns found in Ye’s home
Monday’s session included testimony from two police officers involved with the case, Jessica Rogers of the Rockville City police and Justin Saffer, supervisor of the behavioral assessment unit for Montgomery County police.
Rogers testified she was one of the officers who responded to Ye’s home following the police report by the acquaintance. Rogers said she spoke with Ye and Ye’s father, who both said Ye’s book was fictional and that no weapons were in the home. Rogers said she didn’t search the home and advised Ye to include a disclaimer that the book was fictional.
Saffer, whose unit investigates school threats, explained how he first became aware of Ye in December 2023, when he was invited to participate in a behavioral threat assessment team discussing Ye’s potential return to Wootton. Ye was not permitted to return. Saffer said he continued to check in and follow up on Ye and was notified on the evening of March 3 of Rogers’ visit to Ye’s home.
At that point, Saffer said an investigation began and Ye was considered an elevated threat. After talking with the witness who reported Ye’s writing, Saffer obtained a search warrant for online records including Google searches, Google Drive documents, Instagram and Discord messages.
Saffer said police also searched the home and found no guns.
Saffer noted the book’s main character is an Asian transgender male as is Ye. Ye and the main character also spent time in a hospital after disclosing thoughts of a school shooting to a counselor. When Saffer reviewed the book, it also included a disclaimer that the book was fictional.
In messages, Saffer said Ye expressed the desire to shoot children and that killing random people would get more attention in the media. Other online searches by Ye included individuals who carried out school shootings and information about the age requirements for entering a gun range, Saffer said.
Reviewing the book with Saffer, Pagan and Benowitz noted many characters and places didn’t exist or couldn’t be found, and that the main character never follows through with a school shooting, although the character has thoughts about harming others and carrying out a school shooting.
Pagan also noted the character sought help and expressed doubts about carrying out a school shooting throughout the book.
The trial was scheduled to continue Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., with expected testimony from Ye’s school therapist, the witness who reported the book and Wootton’s principal, who was recently placed on leave following a racist incident last week at the school.
