When social media posts spur real-life arrests – The Verge

FBI arrests Colorado man for threatening to kill police in YouTube comments

2014-12-24T12:53:56-05:00

Days after the shooting of two New York City Police Department officers, the FBI has announced the arrest of a man who allegedly posted YouTube comments about hunting down and killing police. Yesterday, the Colorado District Attorney's office said it had detained 33-year-old Jeremiah Perez, who is accused of transmitting an online threat in retaliation for the death of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. On December 17th, Google notified the FBI about a Google+ account called "Vets Hunting Cops," which had commented on a YouTube video. The comment said that since Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Brown i …

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Police can gather evidence by making fake Instagram accounts, court rules

2014-12-23T15:20:01-05:00

Your Instagram friend could secretly be a police officer, and that's totally legal, at least in New Jersey. In an opinion from earlier this month, district court judge William Martini responded to a request by Daniel Gatson, who is accused of running a lucrative jewelry theft ring that was busted by the FBI in 2013. Among many other requests to suppress evidence of cellphone location data, seized physical evidence, and phone conversations, Gatson asked for the court to throw out his social media history: namely, pictures from a private Instagram account, which law enforcement officers had accessed by creating a fake account and friending him …

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Man arrested after allegedly pledging to shoot a passerby for 100 retweets

2014-03-13T18:38:01-04:00

A 20-year-old Los Angeles man has been arrested after he allegedly threatened to shoot someone walking down the street in exchange for 100 retweets on Twitter, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The Los Angeles Times reports that the man, Dakkari Dijon McAnuff, posted a photo on Twitter showing a rifle pointed out at the street with the caption "100 [retweets] and I'll shoot someone walking."

After being alerted to the photo, police tracked McAnuff down at his home in downtown LA and arrested him on suspicion of making criminal threats. An air rifle was found at the home, the Times reports. McAnuff's Twitter account has been de …

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Spain convicts woman for making threats against politicians on Twitter

2014-02-22T16:49:01-05:00

twitter rage bracelet 1020

Threats made on social media are coming back to haunt those that make them in countries around the world. As reported by The New York Times, a 21-year-old woman named Alba González Camacho has been convicted in Spain of inciting terrorism using a social media network. The conviction comes after González Camacho was arrested for posting messages on Twitter calling for a left-leaning terrorist organization to kill politicians.

"I promise to tattoo myself with the face of the person who shoots [conservative Prime Minister Mariano] Rajoy in the neck," González Camacho reportedly posted on Twitter. She also implored the notorious terrorist organ …

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Twitter rape threats land UK pair in jail

2014-01-25T07:03:40-05:00

London 2012 Olympics police car stock

A British man and woman who sent abusive tweets have been jailed. 25-year-old John Nimmo and 23-year-old Isabella Sorley both pleaded guilty to the offence of "improper use of a public electronic communications network" earlier this month after being charged last month. Both have been sentenced to jail time this week. The pair took to Twitter to send abusive tweets following the Bank of England's decision to put novelist Jane Austen on a £10 note. Journalist and activist Caroline Criado-Perez led a successful campaign to get more women on British currency, and faced up to 50 abusive and threatening tweets per hour as a result.

"I will find you …

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UK police charges two with ‘improper use of a communications network’ over threatening tweets

2013-12-16T15:53:34-05:00

Twitter Logo night stock 1020

Back in July, feminist activist and journalist Caroline Criado-Perez successfully campaigned to get Jane Austen's image on the £10 bill - and unwittingly became a major target for trolls on Twitter who sent Criado-Perez all manner of abuse and threats. The UK police made arrests following the outbursts, and now the AP reports that two individuals have been formally charged with "improper use of a communications network." Two other suspects will not be charged, and a fifth continues to be under investigation. Since the outburst, Twitter rolled out an easier way for users to report abusive tweets - something Criado-Pereze she was receiving at …

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China jails teenager for spreading a rumor online

2013-09-19T16:01:34-04:00

(FLICKR jonrussell) sina weibo

China is moving quickly to put its strict new anti-defamation laws to use. Chinese police have detained a teenage boy for allegedly posting an inaccurate rumor online, barely a week after the new laws were first revealed, reports Quartz. The laws are meant to target libelous online rumors, and can hold their writers liable should they reach some sort of viral scale. China's standard for what's viral, however, is distinctly low: an inaccurate rumor needs to be reposted just 500 times or viewed just 5,000 times for its writer to potentially be charged with defamation.

None of his posts could be considered viral

The teenager was detained for wr …

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Manslaughter charge turns to murder after prosecutors examine suspect’s tweets

2013-08-16T17:17:43-04:00

court house

A series of tweets have helped upgrade a California resident's vehicular manslaughter charge into a charge of murder because of their morbid tone. The Oakland Tribune reports that 18-year-old Cody Hall received the initial charge late last month for allegedly hitting and killing a bicyclist with a speeding car. But prosecutors have now managed to elevate the charge partially because he had allegedly invited his followers to "come on a death ride with me," tweeted that he'd driven 140 miles per hour on an interstate highway, and retweeted the phrase "drive fast live young" (which appears to be lyrics from a recent Tyga song) - though the rema …

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Former student goes on trial this week for Tumblr threat after months in prison

2013-08-12T13:15:06-04:00

Caleb Clemmons

Arrests based on threats made on Twitter or Facebook are nothing new, but they've happened less frequently in the US than in the UK or other countries. Later this week, however, a former college student named Caleb Clemmons will go on trial for a "joke" post he made on his Tumblr back in February. According to Gawker, Clemmons was arrested after making a Tumblr post that said he planned to "shoot up Georgia Southern" (his college) the next day. It went on to ask people to "pass this around to see the affect it has. To see if I get arrested." Within a few hours, Clemmons was tracked down and arrested, and he's been in jail awaiting trial ever …

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Twitter rape threats land UK man in handcuffs

2013-07-29T03:50:46-04:00

via assets.sbnation.com

A 21-year-old Manchester man has been arrested in conjunction with rape threats and other harrassment following the Bank of England's decision to put novelist Jane Austen on the £10 note. Journalist and activist Caroline Criado-Perez led the successful initiative to get more women on British currency, only to face a stream of abuse and threats on Twitter - up to 50 in a single hour. A spokesman from Scotland Yard said that "the arrest is in connection with an allegation of malicious communications received by officers in Camden on Thursday, July 25," reports Sky News.

Following the wave of harrassment, many have called on Twitter to make si …

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