High School Rapper Arrested and Facing Terrorism Charges For Rap About Boston Marathon Bombing

[levp]

Source: Alternet

A Massachusetts high school student faces felony charges for allegedly posting on social media rap lyrics that police say amount to terrorist threats, the Valley Patriot reports.

“He posted a threat in the form of rap where he mentioned the White House, the Boston Marathon bombing, and said ‘everybody you will see what I am going to do, kill people,” said Joe Solomon, who is police chief of Methuen, a city in north Massachusetts.

According to a press release from the Methuen Police Department, 18-year-old Cameron D’Ambrosio posted the alleged threatening rap on Facebook. Police investigated the teenager after one of D’Ambrosio's classmates reported to Methuen High School authorities the “disturbing verbiage” on his Facebook page. The press release notes that the alleged threats “were in general and not directed towards another person or the school.”

According to the Eagle Tribune, D’Ambrosio was charged with communicating a terrorist threat and faces up to 20 years in jail. He is being held on $1 million bail. All this, for writing some scary rap lyrics on Facebook.

Read more: http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/high-school-rapper-arrested-and-facing-terrorism-charges-rap-about-boston-marathon?akid=10392.14867.chR6wH&rd=1&src=newsletter834208&t=3

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This young man is facing 20 years, while Ted Nugent is still free...

[cstanleytech]

2. You are right of course, Nuget should have been arrested as well

but unlike this kid Nuget is well connected enough to those with political power that Nuget was able to escape being arrested.

[frazzled]

3. I'm trying to process this

At first blush, it seems very wrong. But then I'm thinking, if some right-wing militia person, after Oklahoma City, were to post a rant saying "‘everybody you will see what I am going to do, kill people,” and mentioning the Clinton White House and OKC, would we think he should be arrested?

I don't know. Help me out here. I know we arrest people when they make specific threats, say, against a President ... but this was a general threat. But we live in an era of general threats, and we just had one. On the other hand, we tolerate bad language and bad thoughts. I'm really stumped on this one. My guess is it will be thrown out in court. The good news, is maybe this stupid crazy kid will shape up, knowing he is watched.

[Blue_Tires]

4. That kid was just daring someone to arrest him, I guess....

Wannabe tough guy suburban gangster...At least he'll get 1000 street cred points since he'll know what the inside of jail looks like now...

For the record, I don't think he should have been arrested; he still has some strong legal standing with artistic license and the first amendment, but his standing would obviously be stronger if he was actually *performing* the song...But like I said -- Living in Boston even as the investigation is ongoing, and posting it to facebook so everyone sees it means the kid was just daring someone to arrest him...The line between "very bold" and "very fuckin' stupid" is razor-thin...

[Th1onein]

5. I'm sorry, but this is not a terroristic threat.

And, while this young man doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb on the tree, he's done nothing wrong, and sure shouldn't be in jail with a $1 million dollar bail.

We are losing our marbles in this country. We really are.

[WovenGems]

9. Sounds like

he wrote from the point of view from a nutter. Not the first time this has been done. The Who weren't singing they did sadism when they sang "Fiddle About" on the Tommy album. The uncultured will never understand poetry. Sad.

[Heather MC]

6. What about all the people who called for a civil war if Obama won???

[harmonicon]

7. Wasn't there some bill which amended the constitution which would address this?

Freedom of .... freedom of something? What is it? Freedom for law enforcement to arrest people because they just want to? That doesn't sound right. Freedom to spell? Could that be it? Freedom of beach?

I give up.

[Eugene]

8. Massachusetts teen accused of Facebook terror post freed

Source: Reuters

Massachusetts teen accused of Facebook terror post freed

Fri Jun 7, 2013 11:33am EDT

By Richard Valdmanis

(Reuters) - A Massachusetts teenager jailed a month ago for a Facebook post that suggested he could do worse than the Boston Marathon bombers was released, a court official said on Friday, after a grand jury refused to indict him.

Cameron D'Ambrosio was arrested on May 1 and accused of "communicating a terrorist threat." The 18-year-old aspiring rapper from Methuen, 30 miles north of Boston, posted lyrics online that included the words "a boston bombing wait till u see the shit I do."

The case sparked a viral online effort by rights activists to have him freed, and demonstrated the growing tension between law enforcement and free speech proponents after a spate of terror and school-violence incidents across the country.

Lawrence District Court Judge Lynn Rooney issued an order on Thursday to release D'Ambrosio after a grand jury chose not to indict, the court clerk's office said. An official at the county prosecutor's office was not available to comment.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/07/us-usa-explosions-boston-facebook-idUSBRE9560VV20130607

[Comrade Grumpy]

10. Sounds like prosecutors thought twice.

They tell grand juries what they want them to hear.