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
Hasn't anyone heard of Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme who shot President Gerald Ford? Lots of moonbats these days seem to like to quote Fromme as some kind of heroine..... and then there are the "Manson girls" .... I don't know how many of these nutballs the Secret Service checks out, but they are certainly doing the right thing to try to track down potential threats and determine which ones are serious. And if the snivelling whiny lib girl doesn't like it, maybe she will learn not to publish violent threats, whether against the President or anyone else.....
She might equaly likely have been brainwashed by a leftie teacher in her government school.
It's not the job of the SS to scare and intimidate. The SS exists to guard and investigate. These agents crossed the line.
Too bad your parents failed in teaching you proper behavior.
I disagree strongly there as well. As soon as this girl realized what she did was wrong, she removed it without any external prompting. A kid who can police herself like that is a good kid.
I learned that in school. I was no "honor student" either. Perhaps this little twit should have been paying more attention in civics/history class.
"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
I have no reason to doubt her. The SS isn't denying it so it's not even a matter of he said / she said.
It'd be nice if that were enforced.
I believe there are some nice war-time laws as well.
“I'm against the war in Iraq."
Lay you 10 to 1 she couldn't even find Iraq on a world map.
Peaceloving? I thought Moslems had the corner on that market.
Good Kid? Did you miss the part where she is planning on recruiting other high school students in protest against our country? She plans on using this incident as incitement of other teenagers to join her "cause". Yeah, real good girl alright. She's lucky she's not my daughter.
This isn't a popular sentiment here on FR, but I've never hated liberals, nor have I understood the depths of emotion towards those who do. Politcal stances have rarely bothered me.
Whether this girl supports this administration, or this war is irrelevant to me. I would have found it disturbing had she defiantly stood her ground regarding her myspace, but instead she removed it of her own accord. This girl is no threat or danger to anyone. She just holds juvenile opinions that make some people angry. I don't have a problem with that.
How does USC Title 18 apply in this situation? The post office doesn't own the internet.
And where to ideas come from that lead to attempts on other people's lives? They don't arise all on their own. Whether this particular child is a danger to the POTUS or not, someone saw what she posted, and could act upon it. No liking the administration or being against some policy does not provide a defense against stupidity.
If someone had called for someone to slit her throat...The story would have been different...
... or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat...
Absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence...
I take people at their words unless I have to do otherwise. Living life under the opposite assumption, that everyone is lying to you until proven otherwise would be a dour paranoid existence.
Different worlds I guess. I wouldn't have the slightest problem if my daughter were dressed as the girl in the picture. I thought it was actually modest. Obviously, your mileage varies.
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