Posted on 10/15/2006 3:31:37 PM PDT by calcowgirl
SACRAMENTO – Upset by the war in Iraq, Julia Wilson vented her frustrations with President Bush last spring on her Web page on MySpace.com.
She posted a picture of the president, scrawled “Kill Bush” across the top and drew a dagger stabbing his outstretched hand. She later replaced her page on the social-networking site after learning in her eighth-grade history class that such threats are a federal offense.
It was too late.
Federal authorities had found the page and placed Wilson on their checklist. They finally reached her this week in her molecular biology class.
The 14-year-old freshman 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 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 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.”
“Are you serious!?!? omg. Am I in a lot of trouble?” her daughter responded.
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.”
Spokesmen for the Secret Service in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., said they could not comment on the case.
Wilson 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.
They also said the agents should have more quickly figured out they weren't dealing with a real danger. Ultimately, the agents told the teen they would delete her investigation file.
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 Govs. 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.
Julia Wilson plans 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.
LOL, typical liberal, even if she is a teen. Spouting about peace, while posting such vile, disgusting stuff about our president on her webpage. She deserves everything she got and more.
Squeaky Fromm looked pretty innocent too.
It was the misguided "peace" advocates in the 1930's who caused the deaths of tens of millions of people. Their appeasement of Hitler resulted in his increasing his aggression. That brought about WW2. The people who said that Hitler's rebuilding of the German military was a threat to world peace were right. The Lieberals were wrong. They were wrong then and they are wrong now.
Heck, if she said "homosexuals are sinners" she would have been bound and stoned and suspended for a week!
Bump!
I could not disagree more. Protesting is good. They are involved. You only think it is a waste of time because you disagree with their point of protest. If you agreed with it, you would not think it was obnoxious or a waste of time. There could be worse things... like apathy. This country was founded on protest. I don't agree with her, but respect her for at least being involved. Protests work. More repubs should protest. Many times they act like sheeple. Look at the mess in DC. You think there would be change if we all started protesting against the billions in government waste? or the lack of accountability of our representatives?
Winston Churchill -- 1939
Just as true today as when Churchill said it. Lieberals have no knowledge of history. Due to their ignorance, they have no wisdom.
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
What if her website said, "Kill Hillary?"
"When you write "Kill Bush"; you are committing a crime"
John Kerry made a remark lat week that should have landed him square in front of SSA, looks like he will get away with it.
They aren't denying it? Where in the article does it indicate that the Secret Service was contacted? There isn't one reference to anything at all from the Secret Service in the entire article. You appear to be a great critical thinker (/sarcasm)
I have to disagree, in that all the protests orchestrated by the Left only here but worldwide, have created a very anti-American atmosphere. The kids that are drawn into various lefty organizations rarely know the issues, and are the victims of successful propoganda, as well as a lack of critical thinking skills. They, also, usually have a home environment that supports these activities. People of all ages that engage in these destructive displays are unwitting pawns of a large apparatus.
My second point of disagreement lies with your feeling that this type of expression is "a waste of physical and mental energy". It then would follow that you must feel that those of us who do support the troops rallies and other positive events as being in the same catagory. Never in my three plus years of weekly (usually bi-weekly) rallies have I felt that I was wasting my time or energy. Nor are those, especially the service members, that approach us with gratitude.
I wasn't really addressing the "Kill Bush" thing. I was just addressing the question of whether protest is in itself bad. I don't think anyone should put "Kill Bush" or "Kill Hillary" on a website or t-shirt, etc. That is wrong on a number of levels. Protesting peacefully is not wrong, though.
I agree. Apathy is worse, though blindly following a protest movement is a close 2nd. I don't know enough about her grasp of facts, history, human nature, etc. to determine if she fits this category.
Absolutely! Nor would they yell at her. Anyone who has encountered the Secret Service would know better...except for moonbats (parents and kids).
The part where it says, "Spokesmen for the Secret Service in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., said they could not comment on the case. "
There isn't one reference to anything at all from the Secret Service in the entire article.
Wrong, I just showed you otherwise.
You appear to be a great critical thinker (/sarcasm)
Being snide isn't going to get you far, especially after demonstrating a demonstrably poor ability to comprehend what you read.
Yep! And I'd say the parents too, except that I know it isn't possible for them to always monitor what the kids are doing. But I wonder where she got the idea? Hhmmm....
We're not talking about "peaceful protest." We're talking about a girl who put "Kill Bush" on her website.
They couldn't comment. That's a really damning point.
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