Teen Questioned On MySpace Bush Threat

Secret Service Question Calif. Teen About Online Threats To President

(AP)  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.

[mrpete8-2009]

Duh.! Make threats and then say you were mis-treated.?!? Truth is.... dumb is a disease passed on from generation to generation.

[sparkeee35]

Hey "curious"...I don't have any "substantial evidence about the comment I made...just seen it on one of the MANY tv shows that come on...one of the shows that were doing an "indepth" report on the internet. Which can be taken seriously or not.

[curious60]

Sparkee, I agree the Internet is public domain and anyone who wants to can read/monitor it. I also agree that children should be monitored on their Internet use. I'm still surprised that at least two secret service agents were sent to her school during school hours and her home without the actual danger being assessed a little more thoroughly. How do you know that the ATF and DEA have such a list? Curious

[sparkeee35]

There has been more *** from this "MySpace" page...kids going on there and writing their "thoughts". This is a free site. The kids that committed sucide together in Colorado...had written their "thoughts" on this page. That ANYBODY & EVERYBODY can read if they so choose to. SOMEBODY should be monitoring this page...and when there are threats aganist ANYONE...it SHOULD be brought to SOMEONES attention. There was a police officer who had a page on this site...with DISMEMBERED bodies on his page...YET...he didn't understand when he got in trouble for it. He said it was a joke. Imagine that. The internet is a PUBLIC DOMAIN...NO MATTER what page you go to. The minute you go to a page...it sends your information to all different kinds of agencies & businesses. Even if you're just "site seeing". Try looking up bomb making or any form of drug making. Your name will be added to a list from the ATF AND the DEA. Which is how they make their "contacts". Kids should be monitored on where they go on the internet AND what they say. FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY. Child porn is another example of how unsafe the internet is for kids just "surfing" the net...the "information superhighway".

[gramto7]

Doesn't this story make YOU feel safe online? Doesn't it make you wonder just how closely they ARE watching us? What with the tapping of phone lines, and the recently passed bill to ALLOW them to watch where we surf and search, makes me wonder how much they have been doing without a law to make it legal.

[curious60]

My first thought does not concern the teenagers actions or the Secret Service's reaction/overreaction. I'm just marveling at how remarkable it is that the authorities are so startlingly alert as to be able to quickly pick out one message posted by a teenager on the vast sprawl that is myspace, and then show up on her doorstep and at her school with such manpower. Despite our massive national debt we must still have a lot of resources for keeping an eye on the average American.

[litmus1]

A kid states "kill bush" and then whines when caught and because she has a heart on her backpack we are supposed to believe she didn't really mean it?! A mom rushes to her defense and says she was treated unfairly?! Wake up! Lady your kid threatened to kill another individual and I'm no Bush fan but get real. She did something totally stupid and got caught. She's lucky they only yelled at her for 15 minutes. Try twenty years in prison in China or North Korea or WORSE for the same offense. By the way love those publicity shots of you both. The victimized look is so in these days especially when it diverts from your own crimes. "I'm a peace loving person...except when I want to kill you!" LOL America is great.

[intn1]

Any 14 year old with any intelligence should know that you don't just go threatening to kill government officials. There is a right to free speech and free press and artistic ability, but with rights come the responsibility to know where it's ok to demonstrate those rights and when you just need to keep it to yourself. With all the crazies in America these days, she should be grateful all they did was yell at her. Her parents should have taken some responsibility and checked out where their daughter visited online. Everyone says "oh, poor 14 year old girl" because this threat wasn't true. But, nobody says "oh poor whoever" when a threat turns out to be true and nothing was done about it.

[ronniehm]

No, the punishment did not fit the crime. Instead of whining, she should be thankful she got away with being yelled at for 15 minutes instead of doing time. Hmmm, I wonder how much yelling the kid would have to endure if she had posted a picture of her mother.

[ronniehm]

And once again the definition of toture is expanded. "WAAAAA, they yelled at me, and all I did was call for someone's death. Get my lawyer!"

[gladetryst]

When our government starts abusing 14 year olds, we know they are getting callous. Yelling at a 14 year old is inexcusable. Torturing 30 year olds is a symptom of the same disease.

[mwe3wm]

Look at how authoritative action has motivated a young person to action. Now think if the authorities had killed their father, mother, sister or close friend. How motivated do you think this young person would be then? How long would that motivation last?

Can you say suicide bomber?

Can you say Islamic militant?

Can you say Holy War?

I thought you could.

Michael Edwards
Texas
[e-mail]

[cantshutup]

every responsible truly patriotic voter will put in motion in november the changes that need to be made...our country can not survive with the kind of "leadership" we have now...otherwise we are going to end up in a police state that is no longer recognizable as AMERICA

[cantshutup]

abigail4476...i don't think that responsible parents are opposed to authority over their children, i think responsible parents don't like the authorities dismissing our rights as parents...law enforcement has diminished parental rights because of irresponsible parents and it's very scary to think ss officers can come to your home, lie to you, go to the school, lie to the principal, then unneccisarily scare the bajesus out of some kid...did her site say "i'm going to kill....." no...she was expressing how she felt and because she's only 14 it was an immature expression...i'd like to see a return of responsible parenting and a return of parents rights to parents without interference from overzealous authorities that believe THEY can override the authority of good parents

[cantshutup]

i didn't hear anything about ss agents or immigration officials running down to southern california for the mexican's rioting at the high school...guess a 14 yr old white girl is more of a threat than 500 raging illegal lunatics

[cantshutup]

the reason it's such a big deal that ss commandos lied to mom and the principal is well, they lied and appeared to react in a rather heavy handed way...sure, the little girl realized her mistake and took down her site, and even though it may have appeared to look like a threat, i believe she was expressing herself through her right to free speech and artistic freedom, i'm sure she's not the only one in this country who feels the way she does...(she gets credit however, for changing her game plan to organize protests-KUDOS TO HER!)...and if the SS, can't protect the "decider" from a 14 yr old then well, i guess that's too bad...

[ronniehm]

Oh no! Instead of charging her with the crime she committed, they yelled at her for 15 minutes and let her go! Guantanamo! Guantanamo! Bush is evil!

[grumpas]

The whole thing only shows how utterly ridiculous this administration has gotten. They see a threat behind every corner now. They have gotten completely paranoid about it! While terrorist's stalk the countryside going free and no one bothers with them! Now all the "Bushies" can crow he is protecting the country!

[abigail4476]

Oh please. Quit whining. The Secret Service did their job, and obviously determined she was no threat. Big deal. Having freedom of speech does NOT mean there are no consequences for what we say and do.

If my daughter posted any such thing, I would be shocked and appalled, and would personally think that being questioned by the Secret Service would be a good lesson learned--much like having your kid lectured by a police officer after stealing a jelly donut!

Why are parents so opposed to their children being subject to authority? Right now they are teaching their daughter that it is okay to threaten the U.S. President, and if his protective detail has a problem with it, they are in the wrong. The little angelic heart-sketching blondie should be allowed to say or draw whatever she wants, bless her heart. *gag*

[gramto7]

The child took the page down as soon as she found out that it was illegal. The fact that the Secret Service let mom think they were going to talk to her after she got home, and then let the school authorities believe they had mom's permission, is just wrong. Of course, this is just more of Bush's idea of what the Constitution is about. It is, after all, according to him, just a --- ---- piece of paper!