Milwaukee Man Charged In NFL Terror Hoax

Federal Authorities File Charges After Online Posting Claims Dirty Bombs Would Hit 7 Stadiums This Weekend

(CBS/AP)  Federal authorities said Friday they have charged a 20-year-old Wisconsin grocery store clerk with making a hoax threat that said seven NFL stadiums across the nation would be targeted by terrorists with radiological "dirty bombs" this weekend.

Jake J. Brahm, of Wauwatosa, Wis., surrendered to the U.S. Marshal's Service in Milwaukee on Friday morning. He was charged in a sealed criminal complaint filed Thursday in Newark, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said.

One of the stadiums allegedly targeted was Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Brahm was scheduled to make a court appearance later Friday in Milwaukee. The defendant is not believed to be a terrorist threat, CBS News reports.

He was first taken into custody by police in Wauwatosa, Wis., on Wednesday, based on information authorities received that Brahm was the source of the Internet threat to bomb football stadiums, federal authorities said.

FBI agents interviewed him that night, and the FBI said Thursday it had determined the threats were a hoax.

A joint statement from the FBI and Homeland Security Department said fans "should be reassured of their security as they continue to attend sporting events this weekend."

An FBI official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still under investigation, told The Associated Press that the man acknowledged posting the phony stadium threat as part of a "writing duel" with a man from the Brownsville, Texas, area to see who could post the scariest threat.

The Texas man corroborated the story, the official said. Investigators also searched the Milwaukee man's computer, the official added.

"I don't think it was put out there to be real," said FBI agent Linda Krieg in Milwaukee. "Whoever put it out there is not in a position to actually carry through on it."

The threat, dated Oct. 12, appeared on the Web site "The Friend Society," which links to various online forums and off-color cartoons. Its author, identified in the message as "javness," said trucks would deliver radiological bombs Sunday to stadiums in Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Cleveland, Oakland, Calif., and the New York City area, and that Osama bin Laden would claim responsibility.

The agency alerted authorities Wednesday in the cities mentioned, as well as the NFL and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. But the FBI and Homeland Security said there was no intelligence indicating such an attack might be imminent.

Milwaukee police contacted the FBI about the 20-year-old man Wednesday night.

The man questioned did not appear to have any ties to terrorist groups, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said stadiums are well protected through "comprehensive security procedures" that include bag searches and pat-downs.

[peaceintheus]

Well, I guess after this he will stay off the computer, join a church, help his mother with the dishes and laundry, and enroll in college. At least he should!!!

[gramto7]

Does it make anyone besides me wonder just how many people and how much money is involved in monitoring our postings, our surfing, and our email to find things like this non-threat. All the government would have had to do would be to follow up online the entire chain of the blog and it would have saved an enormous amount of time and manhours as well as the reputation of this young man. They could have warned him without actually arresting him.

[agnim]

Very excellent point, z2a1bob.

People can lie about Irag, get thousands of Americans and Iraqi women and children slaughtered, maimed and mangled; but no one ever confront the lying, warmongering murderers.

However the little guy who pulled a stupid childish stunt is fair game for the hypocrites. Tsk-tsk

[z2a1bob]

I can't help but make the observation that when this kid lies about WOMD, he's up for $250K & 5 years. When George Bush lies about WOMD (and its been continuous, he gets re-elected and richer). At least this kids lie didn't result in 650,000 + 2800 deaths.

[eyewideopen]

This kid has also claimed a portion of blogging cyberspace to give a daily annotation of his masturbation habits. Obviously the bomb thing is a case of a vaguely anti-establishment post-adolescent acting-out. I suppose better this than getting drunk and getting behind the wheel of a car. Bet he feels pretty stupid now though...

[szuberbi]

The only thing less credible than the NFL threats is the concept of Randy Larsen's toupee looking realistic.

[connapa]

This is nothing more than a high technology equivalent of phoning in a bomb threat at school. Unfortunately, in this day and age, the system needs to overreact, because if it doesn't, it will be the one time in a thousand where the information was truly correct.

[glynntheg]

Has anyone noticed that the first three comments were ANTI Republican, ANTI Democratic, and ANTI Male. We as Americans have become ANTI everything we breathe negativity and look for ANYONE to blame. How about the child's parents! Did they ever teach him any responsibiliy? Or was he ever taught to be secure within himself (winning this contest seems to be only thing he thought about). How sad. This has become a nation of DEPUBLICANS and REMOCRATS fighting each other over who eats the cake rather than making sure the cake is worth eating and will be around tomorrow. It seems to me that we are all fiddling while ROME BURNS!!

[perception5]

Yeah..... no ties to terrorists......just the DNC that's all.

[plsthink]

Leave it to the ignorant male species of the human race to come up with such idiotic writing competition and act upon it while America lives in the new era of the war against terrorism.