A 39-year-old man accused of threatening a Soka University instructor through emails and creating YouTube videos in which authorities said he talked about a “killing spree” pleaded not guilty Monday, Nov. 6, to making criminal threats against the campus.

David Kenneth Smith of Los Angeles had exchanged emails with a Soka instructor in which he mentioned disciplinary action taken against him for using marijuana while he attended Soka in 2008, according to a statement by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

His apparent YouTube account, “King David,” has multiple videos. In one, Smith mixes together different household items such as incense, antacids and antifreeze. In another, the man talks about the merits of “going on a killing spree.”

In still another video that law enforcement officials said Smith made and was posted to YouTube, he appears to have filmed himself laying down in an empty bathtub with a gun on his bare chest, railing against the perceived entitlement of his former fellow students and administrators with whom he clashed.

“It will do absolutely nothing as far as most things are concerned, most likely, but compared to dying or committing suicide it sounds like a great idea,” Smith apparently says in a video, this one posted just Thursday. “I mean, think about it. …

“Should I be homeless or go on a killing spree?” the man in the video says. “I think being homeless is an entirely artificial situation. I wasn’t born here to obey every rule you guys ever made, OK? I was born to be who I am.”

Authorities also say that Smith allegedly sent the instructor a link to one of his threatening videos, in which Smith talked about the Aliso Viejo university, praised mass shooters and threatened similar action at Soka.

When arrested at his home in Los Angeles, authorities said, they found nine loaded firearms, all registered to Smith. Authorities released a photo of the confiscated guns, which included two semi-automatic handguns, a revolver and two magazine clips, a rifle with a scope on it, and a shotgun.

Smith and the staff member may have worked together when he attended the school but hadn’t talked since he graduated in 2008 and the two parted ways on good terms, Deputy District Attorney Brett Brian said after Smith’s initial court appearance in Orange County Superior Court.

“He obviously has some sick fascination with mass shootings, which is the scary thing,” said Brian, the proescutor handling the case. “I don’t know what his motives are, but he is clearly upset.”

On Wednesday, a university representative called sheriff’s deputies about the threatening emails, and Smith was arrested Friday. The allegations surfaced on Monday, via a sheriff’s press release, just one day after a lone shooter in Texas killed 26 people attending church.

The threats are unprecedented for the university, and the school is not adding security after Smith’s arrest, said Wendy Harder, a Soka University spokeswoman.

Students and faculty, notified of the threats and arrest by a campus-wide email around noon Monday, were shock by the news. Several students said they would have liked to have been told earlier.

“Why didn’t we know about this sooner?” asked Hannah Fradkin, 18, of Montana.

“Soka has a reputation for being so peaceful and tranquil and you read about mass shootings and you think that wouldn’t happen here,” she said. “So it’s scary to think that it almost happened here. It’s pretty mind-blowing.”

Calling the situation scary, Sophomore Leo Ortiz, 19, of Santa Cruz, said he, too, would have appreciated earlier notice from the administration: “We would have been more on our feet.”

Harder, the university spokeswoman, said administrators notified the campus community immediately after the sheriff’s officials issued their press release Monday so as to not hinder the investigation.

“We’ve been working in cooperation with them and don’t want to impair their investigation,” Harder said. “We knew they had Smith under surveillance. He was nowhere near campus.”

The 16-year-old private university is based on the teachings of Buddhist teacher Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. The school promotes the three Buddhist principles: peace, human rights and the sanctity of life. About 450 students attend Soka’s Aliso Viejo campus, which has a mission to create global citizens.

Bail for Smith was set at $1 million against the prosecutor’s requests that he be held without bail. A protective order was placed on Smith, prohibiting him from contacting the person he sent the threatening emails to.

For a time, Smith contributed to The Orange County Register as a freelancer.

“David Kenneth Smith was not an employee of the Register,” a Southern California News Group spokesman said. “It appears he contributed periodically between 2005 and 2008 when the Register was owned by Freedom Communications.”