The former student accused of threatening to kill an English professor pleaded “not guilty” to six counts of criminal threats during his arraignment at the Torrance Courthouse today.

After failing an English class taught by Cynthia Somin in fall 2014, Dash Porter, 28, former theater major, sent multiple threatening Facebook messages for nearly a year up until December 2015, after which he ended up with a temporary restraining order against him.

In his most recent court appearance, Porter’s defense attorney Tom Worthington failed to convince Judge T.K. Herman that the former theater major should be charged for misdemeanors rather than felonies.

Ultimately, Herman would send this case to be arraigned, as the prosecution would not settle for anything less than a felony charge, while the defense fought to have Porter charged with misdemeanors.

After Porter’s attorney and him pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, he will be back in court on Aug. 18 for his first preliminary trial date.