MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - The Vermont Legislature has passed a bill that would make it a crime if anyone takes “substantial steps” to threaten to kill or kidnap groups of people.

The Rutland Herald reports the bill given final approval Monday came in response to an alleged plot to commit a school shooting at Fair Haven Union High School by a former student.

Republican Gov. Phil Scott has not indicated whether he will sign the bill.

The bill was introduced in the aftermath of the case of 18-year-old Jack Sawyer, of Poultney, who was initially charged with planning a school shooting at the Fair Haven Union High School.

The initial charges against him were dropped after the Vermont Supreme Court ruled Sawyer’s preparations for the shooting did not meet Vermont’s definition of a crime.

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