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Threatening YouTube Video Lands Man In Prison

wiredmikey writes "Norman LeBoon of Philadelphia was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his production and transmission of a YouTube video over the Internet last March containing a threat to injure and kill a United States Congressman. Following his arrest, LeBoon told federal agents that Eric Cantor is 'pure evil'; 'will be dead'; and that 'Cantor's family is suffering because of his father's wrath.'"

18 of 243 comments (clear)

  1. Breaking news... by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Threatening people is against the law. Film at eleven.

    1. Re:Breaking news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Threatening politicians gets you shipped to gitmo.

      Threatening normal, everyday citizens? Police care less because their ticket quotas are more important.

    2. Re:Breaking news... by fishbowl · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, this is generally only true if the threat is against a government official and if a reasonable person believes that the target has a reasonable apprehension of the threat being carried out. There are state and local laws covering stuff like "terroristic threats" and all kinds of civil statutes, but in order to rise to the level of a federal criminal rap, the threat has to be credible, specific, and targeted at a government official. This is why Pat Robertson got away with making a hit request against Hugo Chavez, for instance.

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    3. Re:Breaking news... by snowgirl · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Threatening people is against the law. Film at eleven.

      Not just any people, but government workers... go to your local Social Security or DMV office, and you'll see a prominent sign stating that it is illegal to threaten any of the clerks working there. Wait, no... threatening someone with a show of force is commonly "assault" in the USA as well... if you flash a gun at me like you intend to do me harm, you just committed a crime... doesn't matter who I am.

      Politicians in general receive fairly blanket protections, a real threat made against one is investigated and you're likely to face jail time if you meant it seriously, and a stern talking to about how they could lock you up if it was made in jest.

      From the sound of TFS, this guy was a real threat to Eric Cantor, and the guy ought be in jail...

      --
      WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
    4. Re:Breaking news... by Americano · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Oh come the fuck on. Pray tell, what's the mechanism by which someone's bullets would get inside someone else's head, if not through the action of someone pulling a trigger? Is he going to surgically implant them in a willing patient, and has Mr. Cantor already signalled his & his family's willingness to have bullets surgically implanted in their heads in a painless & harmless medical procedure performed by (or financed by) Mr. LeBoon?

      Sarah Palin's campaign puts together a poster with a fairly standard "target" symbol that happens to be a gun sight, and she's a bloodthirsty villain who advocates violence, but a guy records himself saying that "my bullets [...] will be placed in your heads," is not threatening, or encouraging, violence against an elected official?

      I'm not sure why you're trying so hard to excuse this behavior - it's inappropriate on every level, regardless of the man's political affiliation. He deserves the full attention of law enforcement, and he's receiving exactly that now. Take his article and s/Cantor/Pelosi/g and tell me you wouldn't be howling for Rush Limbaugh's blood right now, in addition to advocating that the man making the threat, and at least 5-10% of the rest of conservatives (who "obviously" think the same way as this guy, on account of knowing how to use a gun), should be locked up?

    5. Re:Breaking news... by Americano · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The question is whether or not it's a threat or incitement to violence, not whether or not somebody has already pulled the trigger as a result. And in all your name-calling, I notice you couldn't answer the question of how bullets get into someone's head except through violent means. Try again, pottymouth.

      Since you seem to have reading comprehension issues, nowhere in there did I defend Sarah Palin's choice of ad campaign, or even her as a politician or a person. I'm simply pointing out a tremendous double standard - her campaign ad had tenuous-at-best relevance to Mr. Loughner's actions, but she was castigated for using "violent imagery" as if she were the sole - or even a proximal - cause of the incident.

      And yet we have someone threatening to "put his bullets" in someone's head, and people are struggling to come up with a way to explain how it's not *really* a threat, and didn't *actually* threaten harm. The double standard is simply breathtaking, and your furiously ham-fisted and vulgar response simply underscores the point: rather than acknowledge that this man made a real threat by any reasonable standard of judgement, you'll simply call me a "repulsive cunt" and report in for your Anti-Tea Party Rant profile badge over on DKos.

    6. Re:Breaking news... by Lord+Kano · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What exactly is the cop gaining or losing by not taking care of the poor verses the rich?

      I really cannot fathom a thing that would make your statement remotely true. Perhaps if you said more serious threats get more attention or something else. I don't know, please explain.

      OK. Lemme 'splain this to you.

      In large metropolitan areas, police chiefs are elected. To be elected they need money. To get money(legally), they need to be connected. Money and influence are gained by staying in the good graces of people with disposable income to donate.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
  2. Re:meanwhile.... by hedwards · · Score: 4, Funny

    As others have suggested, the difference is that unlike the GOP, the Democratic party doesn't encourage, endorse or suggest violence as a means of solving the political problems int he US. Or have you forgotten about that? The various incidents were pretty well covered by the media.

  3. Re:meanwhile.... by d3ac0n · · Score: 4, Informative

    Care to cite examples? If you can't, you *are* trolling.

    That's because he *is* trolling.

    Here are two recent and telling examples of why the troll is wrong:

    Exhibit A: Crazy person goes on a rampage and shoots a Democrat politician in the head, nearly killing her.

    Media response: Multiple week long circus trying to blame Sarah Palin for the actions of a loon.

    Police response: Local police Chief spends more time in front of the camera railing against the Tea Party than he does investigating the attack.

    End result: Eventually the investigation is completed by the FBI. The crazy person was crazy and acted alone, uninfluenced by any mainstream political thought or either party. Media continues blame game against Palin unabated.

    Exhibit B: After a week spent trashing the capital building in Madison, Leftist thugs send multiple death threats against Wisconsin GOP members and their families.

    Media response: Nonexistent outside Fox and the con-alt-media.

    Police response: 1 month later and they have ONE person in custody.

    End Result: Still playing out.

    These are only the most recent examples. I could come up with many more. The point is, in public life in general and in the media in particular, Dems are generally given a pass and let slide when it comes to misbehavior. But the same behavior done by a GOP member elicits WEEKS of scathing coverage with the clear and obvious intent of the absolute destruction of said GOP politician.

    Not to say that ANY politician should be allowed to slide when they do wrong. They should be absolutely held accountable. But it would be nice, for a change, if we got the same anti-corruption zeal from the MSM when the bad guy or gal is a 'D' as we do when he or she is an 'R'.

    --
    Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
  4. Re:meanwhile.... by hedwards · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's not a citation, that's your interpretation. Threatening a public official isn't automatically going to end with court proceedings, there is a legal threshold that must be met. It doesn't happen to occur to you that if Fox was the only one covering it that the threats might not have been credible?

    Remember Fox and the con-alt-media are the ones that believe in this massive liberal conspiracy and that Fox went to court specifically to defend its right to make up stories. Fox itself isn't a source of news, and that's their official stance on the matter.

  5. A Fine Expression by macraig · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This guy might have benefitted from a quip emblazoned on a plaque my grandpappy had on his wall:

    It's often a fine expression of the language to simply say nothing.

    Perhaps I'll send Norman the plaque to decorate his jail cell.

  6. Anagram #2 by handy_vandal · · Score: 3, Funny

    Mr. Non-Boolean

    --
    -kgj
  7. BULLSHIT ALERT ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "Threatening normal, everyday citizens? Police care less because their ticket quotas are more important."

    WRONG.

    You have no idea what you are talking about.

    I, on the other hand, do. And that's because I have actual experience.

    Communicating threats has never been taken more seriously than it is now.

    I spent 30 months in prison for this crime. If someone believes your opinion
    is an accurate representation of how law enforcement deals with this stuff, they
    could find themselves in a world of shit.

  8. Re:Wow by ae1294 · · Score: 4, Funny

    That was my thought. Cantor is evil, but that's no reason to threaten him. As rewarding as it would be, you can't just string up politicians for being evil.

    I don't recall reading anything in the constitution that forbids "stringing up politicians" so isn't it then left up to the states? Also I don't recall reading any law forbidding it in my state nor local governments so doesn't that mean it's left up for us to decide? :-)

  9. Re:meanwhile.... by Americano · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Actually he makes a very good point. 18 Wisconsin congressmen reported death threats after the collective bargaining bill was passed there recently. Yet, you actually do have to go looking to find anything about it on most nationwide news sites. That link above is from a daily newspaper in a small town in central Wisconsin. I'm surprised I wasn't able to at easily find a wire service story about the death threats, given the hysterical nature of the rest of the coverage of the issue.

    considering that CNN did report that death threats have led to at least one set of charges, it's hard to imagine that Fox News was just making shit up about the threats, as you're trying to suggest.

  10. Name That Party! by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Kind of funny that Slashdot has fallen victim to the sickness of always letting you know up-front if someone being threatened or harmed in some way is a Democrat, but as with any of the media outlets seems to "accidentally" leave off mention when the potential victim is a Republican.

    Also kind of funny you don't see Tea Party people being arrested for this kind of lunacy even though from reading Slashot you'd think that every last one of them were equally insane.

    People here on Slashdot seem to equate the conservative body of thought in general with threats and stifling of thought, but repeatedly (as we see echoed in Wisconsin) you have to look to the edges of the left to see actual threats (or even actions) materialize.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  11. Re:Threats on peasants? Please! by hairyfeet · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Riiight,and fascism is just another name for love and all white folks are in the Klan! I personally still got a nice scar on the back of my head thanks to a cop in MS, who said, and I quote "God damned niggers and fucking hippies, I don't know which I can't stand more". BTW that "God Damned nigger" I was riding with? He was a baptist minister, I was playing in his traveling tent revival on bass as a personal favor.

    So allow me to say, from the bottom of my heart, go fuck yourself your fascist cock sucking racist assclown.

    --
    ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.