Couple says it's targeted in Pitt bomb threat investigation because of gender ID

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Officials said a transgender couple from Cambria County who are being called persons of interest in the Pitt bomb-threat case went in front of a grand jury Tuesday.

Seamus Johnston and his partner, Katherine Anne McCloskey, said they think they're being singled out because of their gender identity.

The couple said they want to testify and will provide handwriting samples, fingerprints and other materials only if they're served with a warrant.

McCloskey said she and Johnston want to make statements to the grand jury, and spent the morning "waiting for the judge to issue a warrant and an affidavit of probable cause."

“I got the feeling they were desperately afraid of us to testify,” McCloskey said. “I can’t imagine why else the prosecutor will appear tomorrow to argue why we can’t testify.”

Johnston filed multiple lawsuits against the university after being expelled in January for changing in the men’s locker room on the Univesity of Pittsburgh's Johnstown campus.

“Their discrimination against not just me, but all transgendered students that attend their university, shouldn’t have happened,” Johnston said. “It’s a very, very stressful situation for me. It’s very frustrating.”

The couple told Channel 11’s sister station WJAC in Johnstown that they know people who go to Pitt’s main campus and they would never want to put them in danger.

"We didn't do it. We had nothing whatsoever to do with the bomb threats. We think they're despicable," McCloskey said.

The couple said investigators have singled them out because of their transgender lifestyle and because of the Johnston's lawsuits against the university.

"This apparently is payback from the university for the fact that we're suing them because my partner has been expelled from the university," said McCloskey.

The couple said they have not submitted any handwriting samples, fingerprints or computers to investigators because they are still waiting on warrants from police. They said once the warrants are obtained, they will fully cooperate with investigators.

Meanwhile, the bomb threats continued at Pitt on Tuesday. A threat was received for the Chevron Building and the William Pitt Union just before 1:30 p.m.

On Monday, the law school and two other buildings were evacuated.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Penn., has urged the Department of Homeland Security to get involved.

“To help bring a swift end to this situation and restore peace, I urge you to direct any and all available resources to assist in this investigation,” Casey wrote in a letter to the Department of Justice.

WPXI