A day after an Afton man caused a lockdown last week at the University of St. Thomas, he sent a threatening email to the college president despite an active restraining order prohibiting him from any contact, according to court records.
Ryan Harrison Schacht (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
Ryan Harrison Schacht, 46, has been charged in Ramsey County District Court with one count of felony threats of violence in connection with the Feb. 10 incident involving St. Thomas president Robert Vischer. In two separate cases, Schacht is charged with a total of five counts of violating a harassment restraining order.
On Feb. 9, Schacht called the university’s public safety department and said he was going to Vischer’s office to kill himself, according to the criminal complaint. Schacht also left Vischer a voicemail demanding that he meet with him.
According to the complaint, Schacht also called the college and asked a dispatcher to get Vischer on the line. Schacht said, “I’m gonna kill someone if you don’t get the (expletive) on the phone!”
The shelter-in-place alert, issued shortly before 12:30 p.m., was lifted about an hour later after St. Paul police determined Schacht was not on campus and not in the city of St. Paul.
The next day, police were called to the St. Paul campus after Schacht allegedly sent Vischer multiple emails. One email read: “You stole my life from me. I’m without a business. No Family. No Money. No House. Make me whole or suffer the wrath of god.”
Vischer, the college’s president since 2023, told police that he has spoken to Schacht and replied to Schacht’s emails, but he has never met him in person.
Schacht’s mother said her son is recently divorced and going through a mental health crisis, the complaint said.
Schacht was arrested on a probable cause warrant Feb. 11 after showing up at his ex-wife’s home in Oak Park Heights.
Schacht went before Ramsey County District Judge Sophia Vuelo on Tuesday. Vuelo found sufficient probable cause to proceed with the charges, while also ordering Schacht to undergo a mental health evaluation before the cases can move forward.
Court and jail records show Schacht posted a $40,000 bond and was released from the Ramsey County jail on Tuesday. As a condition of his release, he was ordered to stay away from the university.
Also Tuesday, a Washington County judge granted an emergency extreme risk protection order against Schacht, noting that he is a risk to himself and others and prohibiting him from possessing firearms. The emergency petition, filed by Oak Park Heights police, also notes that Schacht was trespassed from St. Ambrose Church in Woodbury on Feb. 11, when he “showed up unannounced and caused fear and alarm.”
An attorney for Schacht was not listed in the court files.
Concerns grew
Separate petitions for a harassment restraining order filed last month by Vischer and Brian Rich, the college emergency manager, allege Schacht made dozens of phone calls or sent text messages to both starting in May.
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Vischer wrote in his petition that he never met or heard of Schacht, a former St. Thomas student, before then and that he “consistently did not respond to (Schacht’s) communications or otherwise encourage continued communications by him.”
According to Vischer’s petition, the first communication with Schacht came on May 26, when he left a message on his administrative assistant’s voicemail asking to meet with the college president about a business venture.
The next day, the petition said, Schacht repeatedly emailed Vischer, asking him in one if he knew who hacked his phone. In another, he wrote: “I’m at the University ready to meet with you to close this deal. I’d like to make it happen ASAP.”
Vischer informed the college security team about the emails from Schacht and that he would be working with his office door locked, the petition read. Schacht then showed up at the office and asked to meet, but was turned away.
The university issued Schacht a trespass notice on May 28.
Schacht continued to contact Vischer, Rich and the university’s public safety office, the petitions said. In the fall, the president wrote in his petition, “(Schacht’s) communications and the tone of them escalated in terms of urgency and the subject matter. He appeared to me to be getting more agitated and that his mental health had gotten worse.”
Vischer wrote that his fear was that if Schacht did not receive mental health help, “that his condition would worsen and he would show up at the UST campus to hurt me or others in my office. Since January 2026, I remain deeply concerned about the worst-case scenario.”
Rich expressed similar concerns in his petition, writing that he worried about the well-being of himself, Vischer, college staff and students.
Social media posts
Schacht was served with the two harassment restraining orders on Jan. 28, prohibiting him from having any contact or communication with Vischer and Rich and being at St. Thomas’ campuses in St. Paul and Minneapolis.
The order remains active and in place until Jan. 26, 2028, according to the complaint.
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During its investigation, the complaint said, St. Paul police received several screenshots of social media posts Schacht made.
A Feb. 9 post mentioned how Vischer is trying to cover up the university’s involvement in the theft of Schacht’s business.
Two days later, Schacht posted how he is going to sue the university and the Catholic Church. Another one that day, the complaint continues, showed a picture of a rifle with the word “justice.”
In a Thursday statement to the Pioneer Press, the university said: “St. Thomas is continuously focused on safeguarding its university community. As part of that, our Public Safety department is working closely with local law enforcement related to last week’s incident. We are grateful for the work of local police and our Public Safety officers to keep our community safe.”
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