Death threats online - Good one, Genius

[allingeneral]

I hope we never have to deal with anything like this here at VGOF.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/0 ... -bart-cop/

FBI agents have raided the home of a man suspected of posting online messages threatening the life of a California transit cop who was involved in a controversial shooting earlier this year.

Jeffrey Weaver of Roanoke, Virginia is suspecting of posting anonymous comments to the popular InfoWars.com site run by radio show host Alex Jones. Those comments, which were quickly deleted by moderators, threatened to kill Johannes Mehserle, a former police officer for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), who was caught on video last January shooting a 22-year-old man in the back at point-blank range while the youth was lying on the ground.

That shooting — which occurred on the platform of an Oakland, California BART station in front of numerous train passengers — received widespread publicity and prompted violent protests and calls for Mehserle’s arrest on murder charges. Mehserle was arrested in Nevada on January 14th, where he said he went after receiving death threats.

According to an FBI affidavit (.pdf), Weaver allegedly posted on January 5 and January 7 under the name “f***.” “f*** the pigs and if I find out who the pig is then I will kill the pig who killed him,” one of the messages read.

After another reader posted Mehserle’s home address at InfoWars, the original poster added a second message noting Meherle’s address and saying “now that I know who he is and where he is its only a matter of time and his punishment will be to watch his bitch and his baby get wasted in front of him . . . this isn’t a threat its a f*** promise . . . because justice will be served death wish charles bronson vigilante style. . . .”

On January 10, the same user posted a third message to InfoWars implying that he might kill another police officer in Martinsville, Virginia, who had killed a 17-year-old boy with a Taser. In that message, the user claimed he owned a gun.

All I got to say is that I’m within 100 miles of where this incident happened at and reading this makes my blood boil. Maybe I should drive to Martinsville with my 9mm Glock and some teflon coated armor piercing Black Rhino hollow pointed rounds and do the world a favor by ridding the world of this piece of poop pig . . .

FBI agents subpoenaed syndicated radio host and free speech advocate Alex Jones, who runs InfoWars, to obtain IP addresses from which the messages were posted. They matched three addresses to a Verizon account owned by Weaver.

Three years earlier Weaver, who was convicted in 1986 for selling or furnishing marijuana, had also threatened to massacre employees of Cox Communications after the company cut off his cable TV, according to the FBI. When a Cox representative came to the house Weaver shared with his mother, Weaver said he was so mad he planned to go to the Cox office with his 9mm and kill everyone. The only reason he didn’t, the affidavit says, was because his mother stopped him.

FBI agents raided Weaver’s house two weeks ago, and found a “green leafy substance” (.pdf) and “a glass smoking device,” but no gun.

Jones told Threat Level that he had instructed one of his moderators to remove the threatening messages post at InfoWars, because of their incendiary nature, a week before the FBI contacted him.

“I don’t defend the terrible things the individual posted on my site,” Jones said. “I can see where these types of incendiary things get hyped up because of the outrageous conduct of the police. But, regardless, there’s no excuse to go after peoples’ families with death threats. This isn’t a joke when you go on a big website and post threats. Then they bitch and complain when the police come to their door. The ones who really make the bad threats are the idiots who do it from their real computer.”

Jones is angry that authorities focused on his site when threats against the San Francisco cop were posted at YouTube and elsewhere. He said it was the fourth subpoena he’s received and he’s considering eliminating the comments section from his site as a result.

“That’s not me happily handing over peoples’ IP addresses,” Jones said. “This is not an enjoyable thing.”

[zephyp]

Death threats via electronic means is indeed a felony. Many people dont know this.

[OakRidgeStars]

The good news is that he didn't have a gun. This situation could have been a lot worse if he was shooting off more than just his mouth.

[zephyp]

The good news is that he didn't have a gun. This situation could have been a lot worse if he was shooting off more than just his mouth.

Indeed. Lucky for them that they have strict laws in the Bay area Sounds like the guy was too stoned to really think it through. Now that would be a bad mix. A stoned hippie with a gun going after the cops.

[Vahunter]

The good news is that he didn't have a gun. This situation could have been a lot worse if he was shooting off more than just his mouth.

Indeed. Lucky for them that they have strict laws in the Bay area Sounds like the guy was too stoned to really think it through. Now that would be a bad mix. A stoned hippie with a gun going after the cops.

Check again, the guy is from Roanoke, Virginia . I didn't think we had too many looney toons here.

[Moccasin]

Check again, the guy is from Roanoke, Virginia . I didn't think we had too many looney toons here.

No. VA is full of them, just ask the forum members that live up there.

[Bob]

They are everywhere, we have our share right here Vahunter.

Here in a little burg of just over I,000 people, sad isn't it.

[zephyp]

My mistake Va. I zeroed in on the BART shooting part. Shame on me for not concentrating. I wonder whatever happened to those cops?

[Bobtail1911]

Sorry, but Alex Jones is a fraud. IMO but there are too many things wrong with his version of the facts on many issues. He makes money off of it too.

[zephyp]

One of my "favorite" threads at inforwars is population control and chem-trails. He's definitely out there and draws the ultra extremists from both sides and then some.

[allingeneral]

Hey, extremists need love too!