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.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Kids (and some adults) need to realize that to post something on the Internet is to publish it.
Awww....
Well she's not getting an invitation to be one of my MySpace friends.
Real tears?!
She's just an innocent, kind-hearted, lovable kid. Aww look, she threatened to kill the President. Isn't that cute.
Give me a break.
"Just another moonbat. Why pick on a girl? There are lots of more dangerous moonbats who threaten the President with death regularly. The Secret Service ought to be going after them."
Yeah, like her parents. Do a little searching on them. This is how she got so screwed up.
"Ultimately, the agents told the teen they would delete her investigation file."
The agents would not have said such a thing because there is no way they would do such a thing. The girl knew better and still made the threat so she should live with the consequences.
I think they should go after ALL of them, as they used to do.
IMHO, they should not allow entry into the country of the people who made the Bush assasination movie, until they submit to questioning. Make them spend a few hours of their time explaining themselves to the Secret Service.
When you write "Kill Bush"; you are committing a crime. Where were her parents? Did they not know she was doing this?
You're kidding, right? You don't think there could be a female version of Hinkley? There have been plenty of whacked out women in history threatening the US. Kathy Boudin of Weatherman fame comes to mind. Or Emma Goldman and her commie friends.
The SS did the right thing. IMO, they should now look into the mother because whoever taught this kid such hatred of the President (without even teaching them that threats against a President are a federal offense) is a menace, if not more.
It's required, and good for the girl, a two-fer, she learns there are responsibilities and consequences as well as freedom. Something her parents should have taught her.
I'm very surprised at the number of people that will put all kinds of personal stuff on the Internet for, literally, the whole world to look at.
She needs to be charged, I don't care how old she is!
McClatchy High School freshman Julia Wilson, left, with her sister, Maddy,
mother, Kirstie, and father, Jim Moose, in their Land Park home.
Julia used to run a Web page on MySpace.com, a social networking site for teens,
but now says she thinks it's too juvenile and a time-waster.
This is a sympton of a larger problem. A lot of kids think that protesting and other activist type activities are actual accomplishments. They're not. Protesting is obnoxious and a waste of physical and mental energy. It would be nice if more students could direct their energies towards something constructive. Ask one of these future protesters for some suggestions about what we should do in Iraq. If you get any at all, they will be utterly unrealistic, such as "open a dialogue with the terrorists."
On a side note, I was walking in downtown DC this morning to get some breakfast. I passed by a guy who was talking abnormally loud on his cell phone, clearly with the hope that other people would hear him. He was discussing some article that he wrote about "the Republican meltdown." It seemed that he thought writing some left-wing version of an Ann Coulter article was really important. God forbid he come up with some new ideas or try to actually accomplish anything worthwhile rather than slinging rocks and mud. That seems to be the same mentality that views protesting as a worthwhile activity. It's all about being obnoxious and making noise to get noticed. Accomplishing something? We'll worry about that when we get there.
FYI
US Code Title 18, Part I, Chapter 41, Sec 871
(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
U.S. agents question teen - Girl ran anti-Bush page on MySpace
Sacramento Bee ^ | October 13, 2006 | Laurel Rosenhall and Ryan Lillis
Posted on 10/13/2006 7:24:30 AM PDT by pf flyers
Well if you do it again dumbass I guess that will determine that
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.