Slashdot Mirror
Secret Service Reads Livejournal
Prong_Thunder writes "A livejournal post written on October 18th (google cache, scroll down to 'a prayer for dubya') resulted in a visit from the US Secret Service nine days later, as it 'constituted a possible threat to the president'."
She goes on to say that they didn't just stumble upon the page and pay her that visit. One of the people that regularly reads her blog "turned her in". Pretty scary thing to happen, but in other countries it could have turned out much worse. *cough*China*cough*
I read about this, but hadn't seen the post. To be honest, it's strong, but I'd stop way short of calling it investigation-worthy, or even worth a trip to the kid's house. (But, the Secret Service investigates all threats made against the President, so that one's out of my jurisdiction.)
If someone said this at a public event, or on the radio, or written it in a newspaper:
Please kill George Bush. I hate him so much.. I want terrible things to happen to him.. And maybe you could have some media people there when the police find the body, so they can take pictures and stuff.. Please, please, please kill Dubya. And Dick Cheney. And everyone else in the Bush Administration."
He would be having a much, much worse night than a visit from a couple of guys in unmarked cars. I see this is marked under "Politics" not YRO, which makes it sound like a free-speech issue. It is, but it's not like Bush just started enforcing that when he took office OMGWTF LUONG LIVE TEH AMERICA!!!. It has, and always was, a felony to threaten the life of the President. Actually, it has been, and always was, a felony to threaten anybody's life; but not everybody has as diligent a private police force as the Service.
This kid was trolling, plain and simple: free speech, on the internet or anywhere else, can't be taken for granted, though I'd like to think we should expect it to be. You're behind a keyboard, so it's easy to say things without realizing you have a world-sized audience. This is one of the reasons I don't have a blog; frankly, I have a Montana-sized ego, so people know I have a knack for expressing my opinion. But I'd rather not have a google-cached word-for-word dossier of my views.
The only way, I believe, that this would have come to the attention of the Secret Service is if someone submitted it to them. And I respect their response -- they apologized and left.
Please report to the Ministry of Love for reeducation.
What's the ugliest part of your body? Some say your nose, some say your toes, but I think it's your mind. -Zappa
For more information as to what they were likely under take a look at US Code Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 41, 871(a):
That said, this has nothing to do with the First Amendment and free speech, because while there are protections of free speech, it is well established that there are things you cannot say. These are commonly summed up as the 'yelling FIRE in a theater' statements. This also does not apply to anything Patriot-act related. It's a simple Secret Service investigation of a percieved threat. End of story.
Hopefully she has now learned that publishing something on the internet (and that's what LJ is) is not much different from standing on a street corner and shoting something, except with an eternal echo.
Sorry, I must have somehow screwed up the link to the PDF. That mirror of the Google cache (in case she asks for it to be removed) is at http://www.nuxx.net/files/dumbgirl.pdf.
I wonder. If it's not legal to pray for someone's death, as it constitutes a threat against them, then would it be legal for me to make a voodoo doll of them? I mean, would you get busted by the secret service if you had a 'W voodoo doll that you stuck pins into? The quote from the chick is that he can 'feel it every time you pray for him.' Well, how about every time they twist the doll's head around in circles?
I'd rather have a Kerry doll, though. Then I'd probably try to pin the skin around his eyes up, they're so damn droopy. He reminds me of a basset hound. Then again, his IQ is around the same.
You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
I got a call from the secret service asking me to come in and answer some questions. They found the post using Dejanews, and wanted to know what the secret code was. I told them it was a program. They said they would have their experts look at it. At the time, it was legally questionable to post that code to usenet due to ITAR, so I was polite when questioned, despite having to explain the difference between a web page and a usenet post, among other things.
In retrospect, I'm shocked I actually said this, but when they called me, I actually asked them, "Where did you get this number?" (The number was unlisted.) Their response, "We are the secret service."
Obviously, the profile of a possible assassin. If only they knew how common these people are... Half the aol chat rooms probably are out to kill someone.
Support more choices in goverment-Vote 3rd party.
10/14/04 09:25 am
a prayer for dubya
Dear God:
Wassup? How's it hanging? Yeah, I know it's been a long time since we talked. This probably stems from my belief that you do not exist. Anyway, the reason why I'm calling you is because last night, President Bush said that he could feel it every time we prayed for him, and since he apparently doesn't listen to anyone but you, Lord, I thought you might pass this along to him.
Please kill George Bush. I hate him so much. I think he is a giant dick and I want terrible things to happen to him. I'm not really big on the specifics of how he dies, but if you could at least arrange it so that the authorities find his dead body on top of an underage black male prostitute surrounded by a mountain of cocaine and child pornography, that would really be super-awesome. And maybe you could have some media people there when the police find the body, so they can take pictures and stuff. That'd be fucking GREAT. Am I allowed to say "fuck" in a prayer? Shit, I just said it again. Ah, well.
Anyway, that's my prayer, Lord. Please, please, please kill Dubya. And Dick Cheney. And everyone else in the Bush Administration. Maybe they can all commit mass suicide together or something. I don't know. You're the one with all the ideas. You come up with something. I need more coffee.
Smooches and Huggles,
anniesj
- She really would like God to terminate King George. Which means, precisely, nothing.
- She doesn't really want God to kill his glorious leaderness. Which, again, means precisely nothing.
What's the difference? Wishful thinking?You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
No bigger groups of idiots exists today. Lets looks at the facts:
President Bush is allowed to stay in a classroom for 7 minutes after hearing of the 2nd plane hitting the WTC. His trip to the school is pre-publicized (hence his location is not secret by any means). The secret service should have politly asked to speak to the president and then run his ass out of there the minute he was out of sight of the children. On the trip in the limo to Air Force One, a group of fighters should have been called up from one of the air force bases in florida and been above the plane before it took off. But this did not happen as fighters didn't meet up with the plane until it's next stop (can't remember the base he landed at briefly).
The secret service blew it big time and failed to protect the president and no one has said a word.
But then some kid says "I pray the president dies" and the secret service considers this a threat. What a bunch of fucking morons. Half the world wants this guy dead. Hell, I want the guy dead (He's put this country in more danger than it's been since the cold war by invading a sovereign nation that held *zero* threat to us and he is responsible for the needless death of over a thousand service american man and woman and well over a fifty thousand iraqi civilians). Is the secret service going to investigate *all* of us? Fucking morons!
Personally its not God I dislike, its his fan club I cant stand (bash.org)
Basically, if the SS actually knocks on my door, we're in a sad state here in these United States.
My guess is they already knocked on your door, and compelled you to post this follow up message to dissuade the millions waiting to pounce on GWB next week at 2:45pm.
According to the livejournalist concerned here, her statement of opposition to the current president, including, as it did, a juvenile or immature death-wish upon him, has earned her among other things an FBI file, and a "strong possibility" according to her attorney that she may be placed on the US no-fly list.
That would be a significant penalty imposed without due process, and no matter what other posters here have said, this is also an obvious free speech issue.
I'm not sure what kind of a comfort it is to say that it likely would have turned out even worse in China.
Whatever one might want to pray happen to the president, it's arguably time also for a prayer in memory of some traditional US civil liberties and protections.
-wb-
Secret Service Reads Livejournal
Well, I guess somebody has to.
-Colin
I wonder if they read Slashdot...
I have a plan! I will kill the president tommorow! Long Live Kerry!
Now we wait...