College Student Posts Something That Sort Of Sounds Like A Threat; Law Enforcement, Mild Panic Ensue
from the but-ends-well,-even-though-the-beginning-and-middle-are-a-mess dept
If anything, the anonymous student should have been investigated for the egregious use of outdated slang.
There’s no danger at Snow College after an anonymous former student threatened the school on Facebook, state officials said.No danger, because there was no threat. So, the past tense usage by "state officials" is completely wrong.
Police believe the out-of-state male author of the post did not plan to hurt anyone, said Derek Walk, a campus police officer.Here's what was posted:
Let's just say, homecoming weekend is gonna go out with a bang. And the football game is gonna be one no one is ever gonna forget.If you're like me, you're probably picturing lots of heavily drinking, possibly culminating in some gametime streaking.
If you're like a lot of the commenters in this screenshot, you're apparently picturing a DHS-suspicion-raising shopping trip for pressure cookers and other fine explodables, followed by the opening scene of "The Last Boy Scout."
Ultimately, no one was charged and locked up with insurmountable bail. Officers did serve a warrant to Google, which coughed up the IP address and ultimately tracked down the suspect. (Yes, I was also confused by this turn of events, but apparently one of the few roads to Facebook anonymity leads directly through Google Docs.) The only thing noticeably different was a larger police presence during that week, which went as routinely un-bombed as the countless weeks preceding it. No charges have been filed, nor does it appear there will be.
Attorney General Sean Reyes praised the work of local officers.Presumably, the student was fully cleared of any potential wrongdoing and mocked gently for his use of the phrase "going out with a bang" by an officer drawing the shape of square with his opposing index fingers.
"We are pleased to have been part of this successful outcome," Reyes said in a prepared statement.
Snow College President Gary Carlston added he’s happy no one was harmed over the weekend and is grateful for the officers’ quick response.
As usual, the thought process is: you can never be too careful. And while I appreciate the fact no one wants to be the one who ignores a potential threat because it doesn't sound scary enough, there's something to be said for not allowing a perpetual fear of rare, highly-isolated incidents to govern your official responses, much less your Facebook interactions. I personally think the anonymity aspect of the posting made it seem more threatening than one made by someone easily identifiable by other students -- something that would have allowed the use of context to frame the "confession." (And while we're on the subject, these same students don't seem too moved to report anonymous comments containing an actual specific threat, admissions of criminal behavior or use of slang even more outdated than "out with a bang.")
I am, however, pleased that this incident didn't turn out like others have -- with someone arrested and/or facing excessive bail -- simply because panic has become the default mode in all school settings.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: investigations, out with a bang, police, threats
Companies: snow college
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I can see how that comment could reasonably be interpreted as being potentially threatening. If something had happened and law enforcement ignored this after seeing it (or being tipped to it) then people would (rightfully) complain that law enforcement ignored a very important potential threat. I think it's better for law enforcement to err on the side of caution here. While I'm usually in agreement with Techdirt on much of what it posts on this one I kinda disagree and I think that law enforcement didn't do anything wrong.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
And no that comment can not reasonably interpreted that way by anyone reasonable. And i rather suspect there are ten thousand comments online about any school using expressive language with violent metaphors they could go hunt down.
Just, no.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
While I'm glad that nobody was arrested, this sort of thing terrifies me. This does nothing but encourage self-censorship and second-guessing any words you are about to say. That's a dangerous road to go down.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
New to the English language huh?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Just goes to show how much fear the USG has created.
I remember a time when such a comment would have engendered an interest in what tomfoolery would have be on the agenda.
I watched a video from the mid-1950's last night and the speaker was saying just what you see with the population today being afraid as a prediction of government policy and tactics.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Just goes to show how much fear the USG has created.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
If not, then the untold thousands of people who got in trouble with authorities by letting slip a bad joke or just talking nonsense were all for naught.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
We are becoming a nation of ZOMG responses to everything.
They talked about a school!!! It must be a threat.
They were near children!!! Must be pedophiles.
They were brown!!! Must be terrorists.
Once upon a time we had common sense, and didn't live in constant fear of a nonexistant boogeyman behind everything.
Today we are terrified of the whatif's, well maybe's, and Faux News told me I should be scared of this... all while ignoring the very terrifying fact that we have lost most of our guaranteed rights.
Secret laws, secret orders, secret courts... and all we have to show for it is nothing. We traded our rights to be more secure, and we've only been made more fearful and much less secure as those tasked with watching over us have military grade weapons that they can use for any reason, and not ever be held accountable.
We have "professionals" trying to target groups that disagree with them for invasive terrorist investigations because it is now a crime to not agree with everyone else.
We need to stop pretending there is a terrorist in every pot, and demand reform of an out of control system that is approaching 3rd world dictatorship levels of paranoia and abuse of citizens.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Why you single out Fox News? All the major media outlets spread fear and panic.
Tune into the news tonight when we will reveal the next threat to you and your family. This is standard operating procedure for main stream news not just Fox.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
News lives on ratings, and reporting absolute crap and appealing to base instincts gets them viewers.
No one wants to pay to have good journalism anymore, they think it should make them money.
60 Minutes was an untouchable show for a very long time.
Then they sold out to one of the **AA's, then they got caught making shit up.
Bullshit sells... Look at TMZs ratings.
TMZ is at least honest about what they are doing, they never try to pretend to be unbiased and offering all sides.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Justin Carter
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Tomorrow's forecast
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Do you know Snow College?
Snow College is located in rural Utah, and is named after historic Mormon figures. I've never been there, but drinking and streaking are most definitely NOT the first things I would picture at any event there.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Do you know Snow College?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Thank goodness the college student poster was not a breeder of small wiry dogs...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"...potentially terrifying implications..."
1) bell, tower, snipe;
2) pressure, cooker, blast;
3) assault, rifle, spray;
4) butcher, knife, slash;
5) post, letter, anthrax;
6) government, agency, snoop.
If you picked items from (1) thru (5) but not (6), you prob'ly work for some gov't agency. If you picked (6), some gov't agency would prob'ly like to speak with you.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
There are other things besides terrorism
I agree that the article was over the top. I'm guessing that in a small town, even parking tickets make the "police blotter". However, I think all the actions taken by law enforcement were reasonable, measured responses.
1. After other posters noted that the anonymous post sounded threatening (giving the anonymous poster a chance to clarify or reword), an officer asked the poster to contact him. In the blog! Had the poster done so, the whole thing could probably have been cleared up with a phone call. Contrast that to police departments who immediately escalate to DHS/swat teams.
2. Failing to get a response, they took reasonable action to find who posted the article. The article isn't clear as to whether the police just "tracked" him or actually interviewed him. I suspect the former because of the heightened security at the game.
3. They never even outed the poster, which is outstanding given the proclivity for law enforcement to sustain injuries from patting their own backs at the expense of potential perps.
The police actions didn't waste a lot of resources. (And lets face it, in a smaller area like this, you could probably chalk up the added security and alertness to the "training" budget.)
This should be held up as a positive example of law enforcement doing their job without generating panic or wasting huge resources. As for the person writing that article? "I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: There are other things besides terrorism
The police response wasn't terrible, this is true. A better response, given the clear nonthreatening nature of the post, would have been to say nothing and just keep an eye on the account.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: There are other things besides terrorism
Acting on a single post is a means of giving the police blanket authority to conduct an interrogation and search whenever they want, or when told to by authority figures.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
.
So sue me motherfuckers.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Yes, you read it right.
You better arrest anyone walking around on campus this weekend. Especially that old lady who is the secretary in the main admin building.
Just the fact that she is walking on campus means she is a terrist.
You can't be too careful you fucking dumbasses. Just arrest everybody to be safe. All you police morons need to arrest yourselves too. I mean, you are walking around with guns in public, and according to your own idiot definitions, that makes you terrists.
Dumbasses.
:-D
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
As a Bostonian
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: As a Bostonian
Bravo. (slow clap)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Slang
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Oh I will respond...
Muhuhuhahahahahahahaha! Muhuhuhahahahahahahaha! Muhuhuhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
...
Melodrama is now indicative of criminal intent?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Peons are persons with little authority or status; paeans are expressions of joy or praise. Kind of made me do a double take on that one. :-)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The phrase fell out of use in the early 21st century when military SWAT teams began raiding the offices of any publication that published a review with the word 'bomb' in it and several people were shot to death in military style raids on their homes after using the word to describe their predictions of a movie's chances of success.
Now, in today's world of 2115, you won't hear the word 'bomb' used except when talking about an explosive device, and even then it is generally only used when referring to an existing real world event. While it isn't technically a crime to use the word 'bomb' in other contexts, most people don't consider it worth the risk. Even fans discussing an action movie are reluctant to use the word in light of the number of people whose homes have been raided by the U.S. Domestic Army (once known as 'Police').
It's hard to imagine a world where people could have once used a phrase like 'This movie is going to bomb at the box office' without triggering a city-wide lockdown and the author spending at least a year in solitary confinement while they await trial, but that's what this country used to be like in the dark ages of the late 20th and early 21st centuries."*
*After this article was published, the author was arrested, tried and convicted of spreading anti-government propaganda under the NoFear Act.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]