TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- An assistant professor of aviation technology at Indiana State University in Terre Haute was arrested Monday on charges of obstruction of justice and harassment.
The charges against Azhar Hussain stem from a series of emails that were received on campus containing anti-Muslim messages and threats of potential violence against members of the Muslim community
The emails, which were first reported on March 8, contained messages that specifically mentioned Hussain as a target.
ISU police say Hussain also reported an alleged assault in the College of Technology on March 24.
Hussain was recently notified by the university that he would not be re-appointed to his faculty position beyond the 2017-18 academic year.
"Based upon the investigation, it is our belief that Hussain was trying to gain sympathy by becoming a victim of anti-Muslim threats which he had created himself," said Joseph Newport, Chief of the ISU Police Department.
Investigators were able to track the computers from which the emails were sent and uncovered evidence to charge Hussain with sending the emails himself.
Hussain was immediately suspended from his teaching duties, according to ISU Provost Mike Licari.
