A former Southwestern Michigan College student’s violent and disturbing outburst made during a summer class earned him a year of probation on Friday.

Judge Michael Dodge sentenced Jesse Paul Preston, 21, of Dowagiac during his appearance in Cass County court that morning, on the charge of attempted threat of terrorism. Preston had previously appeared in court on Oct. 13, where he submitted a plea of no contest to the charge.

According to the court, the charge arose from an incident that took place on July 2 on the college campus in Dowagiac. At the conclusion of his creative writing class, as students were beginning to make their way out of the room, Preston suddenly burst into a rant that was heard by his classmates and instructor.

“You announced loud enough for others to hear that you had a vision to the effect that if you had a knife right now, you would kill everyone at the college and that you would get away with it,” Dodge said.

The incident was reported to campus security, whose investigation into the accident eventually led to Preston’s arrest and charging of the crime.

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz said that while there was no evidence to suggest that the man was an actual threat to others at the college, such threatening rhetoric has no place in a public institution such as a college campus, which the likes of have been a target for several mass shootings and other violent acts for years.

“Perhaps he was mad or frustrated, but that’s not the way to take out or deal with your problems,” Fitz said.

Fitz’s office cut a plea deal with Preston, offering a short stint on probation in exchange for the no contest plea to the felony charge. Upon successful completion of his sentence, which includes mental health counseling, the student will be allowed to plea down to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.

While Dodge accepted this deal, he told the young man sitting in front of him that he hoped he realized the inappropriate nature of his comments.

“Whether you’re joking or you don’t really mean it, you can’t holler ‘fire’ in a crowded theater, and you can’t threaten to blow up a plane,” Dodge said. “In this day and age with the violence that’s occurred in school settings, that’s not an appropriate thing to say given those circumstances.”