Background: The University of Missouri campus in Columbus, Mo. (Google Maps). Inset: Maxwell Warren (Boone County Jail).
A University of Missouri student has been expelled from campus following allegations of assault over a social media dispute. According to authorities, 18-year-old Maxwell Warren is accused of choking a fellow student after being blocked on Snapchat.
Warren is currently detained without bail at Boone County Jail. He faces charges including three counts of domestic assault and one count of burglary. Police reports indicate that the incident occurred in late September when Warren allegedly forced his way into the student’s dormitory after discovering he had been blocked on the social platform. During the confrontation, he reportedly placed his hands around the student’s neck and demanded, “What do you think you are doing? You need to add me back right now.”
The victim of the alleged assault informed police that they complied by unblocking Warren on Snapchat. However, this did not bring an end to the purportedly violent encounters.
Authorities state that on September 26, the day Warren discovered he was blocked, he went uninvited to the victim’s residence hall. When the student partially opened the door, Warren allegedly pushed his way inside and carried out the assault. The student later documented the event by photographing the “red mark” left on their neck.
In a remorseful message sent on Instagram two days later, Warren reportedly expressed regret over the incident, writing, “I feel awful U deserve so much better.”
However, the situation escalated when the two communicated again on Snapchat. Confronted by the student about the assault, Warren allegedly responded with hostility, saying, “I would do it again, I f—ing hate you, I would gladly beat your a—.”
About a month later, on Oct. 29, Warren made contact with the student again and went to the student’s room; this time, with consent. The student told police that Warren “was possibly under the influence of a narcotic” and made sexual advances. When the student declined those advances and told Warren they “just wanted to sleep,” Warren became “frustrated” and allegedly strangled the student again.
According to the probable cause statement, the student “briefly lost consciousness” and woke up with their “whole body twitching uncontrollably.” The student told Warren to never contact them again.
In a second probable cause statement, officers were dispatched to a parking structure on the University of Missouri campus the same day, Oct. 29, after a witness reportedly saw Warren “push a female to the ground.” When Warren was questioned by police, he claimed that the woman hit him first and “chased” him. Police said that surveillance video taken from the parking structure “did not support this claim.”
What the video did show, according to police, was Warren pushing the woman down. A pickup truck then entered the frame, and someone from inside the truck intervened in the alleged altercation. The woman then left the scene in the truck.
Warren was charged with three counts of domestic assault, one of them causing serious physical injury, and one count of burglary. He is being held without bond at Boone County Jail until his next court date on Nov. 10. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 9.
Local ABC affiliate KMIZ reported that Warren has been banned from the University of Missouri campus. University spokesperson Christopher Ave stated, “Maxwell Warren is barred from the University of Missouri campus, classes, and other university activities pending further investigation into allegations surrounding the criminal charges against him. The university does not tolerate acts of violence and holds accountable anyone found to violate the law or university policies. If Warren is released from jail and attempts to enter Mizzou’s campus, he is subject to arrest.”
