Man makes bomb joke on Facebook. Secret Service pay him a visit.
We like to remind our readers now and again about how important it is to watch what you say on social media. The timeline of only the last decade is plagued with ill-advised and often downright foolish comments that have gotten people fired from their jobs, denied entry into other countries and even thrown in jail.
And our regular readers will be well aware of this.
Like it or not, Big Brother is certainly watching social media, and will not be afraid to jump on any suspicious comments, especially if they are made with no privacy settings attached.
The latest person to realise this is Gary Barry. He jokingly commented “Where do we send the bomb?” on a public post from someone he was following that announced that Democratic presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were coming to Columbus in Ohio.
The comment not only attracted the attention of a lot of exasperated Facebook users who replied to his comment, but also the United States Secret Service who turned up on his door soon after. The Secret Service don’t take social media threats lightly, even if they are directed at presidential candidates.
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Now Barry isn’t a terrorist. He isn’t – from what we know – a violent activist willing to resort to such measures. No doubt the Secret Service knows this now. But of course therein lies the problem – “threats” made via the often ambiguous conduit of text on a computer screen can be taken in any way. And the authorities are often forced into having to assume it was meant in the worst possible way.
Barry reports that after around half an hour of questioning they let him off with a stern warning about watching what he says on social media in the future. Theoretically threats like that could lead to 5 years in a federal prison.
We expect Barry will refrain from making similar comments in the future. However many others will inevitably be making the same mistake very soon, especially as the current presidential campaigns reach their business ends.
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