Careful What You Put On Myspace

[Onyx]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n.../n173002D95.DTL

California teen questioned over threats to Bush posted on MySpace

By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer

Friday, October 13, 2006

(10-13) 17:30 PDT SACRAMENTO, (AP) --

Upset by the war in Iraq, Julia Wilson vented her frustrations with President Bush last spring on her MySpace.com page.

She posted a picture of the president, scrawled "Kill Bush" across the top and drew a dagger stabbing his outstretched hand. She replaced the page last spring after learning in her eighth-grade history class that such threats are a federal offense.

Too late.

Federal authorities had found the page and placed her on their checklist. They finally reached her this week in her molecular biology class.

The 14-year-old freshman at Sacramento's McClatchy High School was taken out of class Wednesday and questioned for about 15 minutes by two Secret Service agents. The incident has upset her parents, who said the agents should have included them when they questioned their daughter.

On Friday, the teenager said the agents' questioning over her page on the popular teenage Internet gathering spot led her to tears.

"I wasn't dangerous. I mean, look at what's (stenciled) on my backpack — it's a heart. I'm a very peace-loving person," said Wilson, an honor student who describes herself as politically passionate. "I'm against the war in Iraq. I'm not going to kill the president."

Her mother, Kirstie Wilson, said two agents showed up at the family's home in the city's upscale Land Park neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, questioned her and promised to return once her daughter was home from school.

After they left, Kirstie Wilson sent a text message to her daughter's cell phone, telling her to come straight home: "there are two men from the secret service that want to talk with you. Apparently you made some death threats against president bush," the message read.

"Are you serious!?!? omg. Am I in a lot of trouble?" her daughter wrote back, using shorthand for "Oh, my God."

Moments later, Kirstie Wilson received another text message from her daughter saying agents had pulled her out of class.

Julia Wilson said the agents threatened her by saying she could be sent to juvenile hall for making the threat.

"They yelled at me a lot," she said. "They were unnecessarily mean."

Julia and her parents said the agents were justified in questioning her over her MySpace.com posting. But they said they believe agents went too far by not waiting until she was out of school and questioning her without a parent present.

They also said the agents should have more quickly figured out they weren't dealing with a real danger. Ultimately, the agents told the teenager they would delete her investigation file.

"She obviously is not a threat to society, if you look at her age, her family background, the cartoonish nature of the MySpace page," said her father, Jim Moose, an environmental law attorney.

"She is just a typical teenage girl who made a mistake," said her mother during an interview at their neatly landscaped home. "My blood is boiling that they went behind my back."

Assistant Principal Paul Belluomini said the agents gave him the impression the girl's mother knew they were planning to question her daughter at school. There is no legal requirement that parents be notified.

"This has been an ongoing problem," said Ann Brick, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union in San Francisco.

Former governors Pete Wilson and Gray Davis vetoed bills that would have required that parents give consent or be present when their children are questioned at school by law enforcement officers. A similar bill this year cleared the state Senate but died in the Assembly.

Spokesmen for the Secret Service in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., said they could not comment.

McClatchy senior Ted Prickett went out of his way to shake Julia Wilson's hand Friday outside the high school.

"I may be against her for what she said about Bush, but she stood up for free speech," Prickett said.

Julia Wilson is planning to post a new MySpace.com page, this one devoted to organizing other students to protest the Iraq war.

"I decided today I think I will because it (the questioning) went too far," she said.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Kids shouldn't get mixed up in politics. They just don't have the experiance or the knowledge to really understand all the legalitys you have to consider and all the bad things that can happen if you step over the line.

To me... this is a lesson learned for every teenager that reads about it. There are Limits. There are consequences. Think before you Speak.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

They are in a precarious position nowadays. They are wrong regardless what they do. I've they would have left this girl alone... then next week she commits suicide or kills someone... then omg you loser slacker government ! You KNEW she had trouble and yet you didn't bother to follow up???

They have no way of knowing the whole backstory of someone's life all they have is random bits of info here and there.

Hell even though i'm really getting tired of what seems to be obvious breach of privacy (not in this case just in general) by this administration, in this sort of case... random wise ass kids getting the fear of god put into them for being stupid? Eh , suck it up brat. If mommy and daddy were notified first, wouldnt have been nearly as effective. Opps did i say that out loud.

Publicly threatening to kill somone or do bodily harm to somone in a way that isnt OBVIOUSLY a joke (and the tolerance for such things is getting less and less) is asking for trouble. When that person just happens to be the most powerful man in the world... get ready to bend over and grin. Dont like it it? Sue them (good luck).

[pomba gira]

Our attitude toward kids is just laden with inconsistency and outright hypocrisy. On the one hand if a 16 year old makes a threat or commits a violent act, they are assumed to have full understanding of the implications and consequences of their action. On the other hand, let's say the same young person has sex with someone two years older than her/him. Then, the assumption is that there's no way they could have made a reasoned decision to do so, and they're considered to be totally the victim of the older person... no matter who may have initiated the contact. Am I the only one who doesn't understand the logic at work there?

Looking at that specific story, though, there may be more going on than meets the eye. Says dad is a Cali environmental attorney. Given the Bush administration's record on environmental issues, and its numerous connections to very un-green industries... maybe Dad stepped on someone's toes who then decided to send him a message. You never know.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

In the wake of columbine if they don't follow up on this sort of stuff , they are begging for someone to cry foul when the school gets shot up. But i wouldn't hold it above them to use it as an excuse to harass a political enemy in one way or another.

Whatever happened to crazy? "it happened because them kids was crazy" Not, "it happened because they were listening to ozzy osborne" or "they posted some crazy stuff on the internet, we didnt do anything so its our fault for the kid being crazy". hehe ok silly aside... aside:

People dont just pop out at age 17 being uncaring jackoffs. There are a lot of influences along the way. Maybe whatever it is anyone age 18 or under is convicted of... the parents have to serve the same sentence? That'd wake up a few parents. hehe. I can see my dad in school writing "I will not fart in class." 500 times on the chalkboard.

Americans especially have this idea that things should be risk free. It is impossible period. But its even less possible to be "free" and "totally safe". The more so-called safety you want, the more "freedom" you end up having to give up for that safety. Its an often scary tradeoff. Hell i carried a pocket knife with me virtually every day of my life until i was about 16, no one ever even questioned me about it. Same for a lot of other kids. Now you have to walk through metal dectetors and there are paid security guards in virtually every school. It WILL get more invasive not less. People are not smart enough to understand the push-pull between saftey/risk and freedom.

Eventually i think we will end up like bruce willis in The Fifth Element were he has two circles painted permanently on the ground in his apartment and has to stand on them and put his hands on the wall in a certain spot when the cops (armed with machine guns and riot gear) decide to drop by to ask him a few questions. This isn't because hes a crook, its just the way society is portrayed. Hey its the price for "safety" !

Whoa.. holy soap box troy. *steps down*

[Homicidalheathen]

Oh that is rediculous! A perfect example of the government overstepping its boundaries....using the 911 panick to strong arm us into submission....like your president or not, your not able to say you don't! I wish the 60's would come back. Peaceful protests....no one has the guts to anymore.

I mean common, she is 14! How is she even going to get CLOSE to the president??? Unless these secret service agents.....know they totally suck at their job.....

Free speach is a thing of the past.

[Head Wreck]

tbh. i'm not suprised. its the way things have been heading for a while.

it will not be long at this rate untill we have black shirts

[pomba gira]

They are in a precarious position nowadays. They are wrong regardless what they do. I've they would have left this girl alone... then next week she commits suicide or kills someone... then omg you loser slacker government ! You KNEW she had trouble and yet you didn't bother to follow up???

They have no way of knowing the whole backstory of someone's life all they have is random bits of info here and there.

I don't think they were wrong for investigating the situation. It's true, there well always be a tradeoff between "rights" and security. I also don't think they should have to allow parents in the room when their young'uns are questioned. Hell, I can't get any kind of accurate assessment of a child's needs and strengths with their parents in the room. Parents should certainly be informed when the questioning will take place, and be allowed to be with the child immediately afterward. Maybe let them watch the questioning on CC tv... just not be in the same room.

But... I do question whether it was necessary to go into full hardass interrogation mode with a 14-year-old. If a few minutes of firm-but-polite questioning wasn't enough to give these guys a good idea of the young lady's threat potential, they're in the wrong line of work. It sounds like they went about the whole thing in a generally underhanded and disrespectful way. Yes, the abovementioned tradeoff is a reality... and there probably isn't any 100% "nice" way of questioning someone on a potentially life-or-death issue. BUT- we're either the good guys here or we aren't. If we are then we need to act like it, which IMO includes conducting these affairs in an above-board manner, and treating people with a modicum of respect regardless of how they have or may treat us. If we aren't going to live up to our self-appointed role of global good guys, then we need to stop spouting all this stuff about protecting our freedoms and promoting democracy, and just admit "we're the most badass gang on the planet and we'll stop at nothing to stay that way".

Oh that is rediculous! A perfect example of the government overstepping its boundaries....using the 911 panick to strong arm us into submission...

Yup. I'm sure a lot of the national security types were creaming their collective panties when 9/11 happened. I'm equally sure most of the "Patriot Act" provisions were already written & ready to go, & only awaiting an excuse to whip it out.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

I didn't read anything that said the FBI was not polite. It didn't say they were, but it also did not say they were not. The parents tossed a fit, but parents do that kind of thing when someone else is talking to thier kids.

They questioned her for a little while and decided that she was not really a threat, took her off the watch list and deleted the investigation file.

The parents are angry that they were not present for the qeustioning and that the FBI should have realized she was not a threat sooner...

They only questioned her for a few hours at most... thats pretty damn fast considering how many kids slightly older than her have gone into schools and shot everyone they could.

Personally, I think we should start teraching our children at a young age that just because you have the freedom to say anything you want to, that you should prolly think before you speak.. because sometimes, there are things that should not be said.

Just because you can, does not mean you should.

[pomba gira]

Not to disagree or agree with anything that's been said, but just to maintain some perspective here: The issue was whether or not the young lady was a potential threat to the president, not whether she might cause harm to anyone at her school or elsewhere. She was questioned by Secret Service agents, who are responsible for protecting the president. So the only issue they had reason or authority to investigate was the "threat" to the president on the young lady's Myspace page. Had they indeed felt she was a threat to anyone else, questioning her on that point would have been overstepping their authority, although they would certainly have the responsibilty to notify the appropriate agency and possibly detain or observe her until those persons could take over.

[Soulrev]

Yeah I agree with you, Mark. I didn't read this entire article, about 3/4 of it.. From what I gather I think it's bullshit that they questioned her without her parents present or notified before hand. I also saw that the girl didn't know that saying things like that is a federal offense, so I can understand a mistake. But, you're right, teaching them at a young age about what you can and cannot say is a must, regardless of what it may be.

Overall I'd say this issue is pretty damn ridiculous.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

The parents should be embarrased. I mean... at 13 she isn't sopposed to have a myspace account. Her parent should have had some idea of what she was posting. If she really felt that strongly, she would have talked about it in someway to them. They should have explained to her then just how inapropriate that kind of thing was and how much trouble she could get in for it. This is goes in with another thread. Good parents know what thier kids are doing. They are sopposed to guide them away from trouble like this.

[Marblez]

It is against the law to threaten the president - even if you are joking. I think I learned that in elementary school.

Hate breeds hate - I learned that one pretty early too.

Kids her age are bringing guns to school and actually shooting classmates.

Kids her age are screaming "take me seriously". I say, give them what they want. Treat them like they mean what they say.