. . . and then they came for the LJ folk

[pegkerr]

I just found out what happened to anniesj, and her little brush with the Secret Service because of what she posted in a LiveJournal post. This is deeply upsetting somewhat disturbing.



Thanks to elisem for the alert.

Edited to add: Okay, yeah, yeah, the Secret Service has to investigate threats. Good call. I still find the whole thing creepy, probably because I lacked the imagination (before seeing the entry) to appreciate how over the top anniesj's language was. As a rule of thumb, I employ more polite language on the Internet, using the standard of behavior that I won't say anything here that I would be uncomfortable having any stranger overhear in public (otherwise I friends-lock, which I do only rarely). Because this is public, folks. I just forgot that there are others, sometimes young and impulsive, who are not as cautious.

Comments

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit puzzled about why everyone finds this so upsetting. The Secret Service must investigate threats against the president. That's their job. Wishing that someone would kill him can easily be seen as a threat--it's similar to what some of the school shooters have written before going on their rampages. I don't understand why someone would put it into writing, in a public place especially, that they wish a certain person would be killed, and then the person is surprised when someone takes it seriously.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I have not read the original post, but anniesj said elsewhere that what she said was that she wished that God would make W. drop dead from an aneurysm. I don't know whether or not she or any of the commenters to the post went on to wish for an assassin. I don't get the impression that anyone threatened the President themselves. Yeah, that would be different. But if it's simply wishing the President bad luck healthwise, I think a visit from the Secret Service might be overkill.

It all reminds me of the Irish blessing that a friend has on his wall:

May those that love us, love us.
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles
So we will know them by their limping.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

The original post has been removed, but I saw in another person's LJ what purported to be a copy of it, and there was a sentence like "Please let him be killed" with no mention of a natural death.

The point is that one need not say "I want to kill _____" for it to constitute a real threat. People who go on to kill often phrase their earlier statements in a more indirect or distanced way.

[amandageist.livejournal.com]

I must second this. I think people forget that an LJ is a very public place. I read the screencap of the original entry, and if someone got up on a picnic table at a public park, or in a university eating area, and yelled what was said in the entry, I think many in the audience would have considered it to be over-the-line.

~Amanda

I got you the URL

[amandageist.livejournal.com]

This is the purported screencap of the original post. If it is indeed the entry, it provides some context. At the least, she should have friends-locked the entry.

http://www.thethirteenthstep.com/ljdrama/anniesj-screencap.jpg

[lkw18.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with cakmpls. The way she worded her opinion did sound like a threat. I'm just curious as to how they found her livejournal? I know the FBI can see absolutely everything we do on the internet, but how do they come across threats, or supposed threats, against the President?

[naomikritzer]

The thing I find creepy about this is that a LiveJournaler took it upon themselves to contact the Secret Service and tell them about her post. Very 1984-ish, the idea that ones' friends and acquaintances would be tale-bearing to the authorities.

The fact that the Secret Service responded to it, and the way in which they responded (it sounds like they knocked on her door and they had a nice, civilized chat) sounds much less creepy than the raid on the author who was writing a book about Cambodia.

The Secret Service responding to an alleged threat against the President is not a new thing. It's what they do. It's what they've done for a looooooooong time. For an author to be raided, to have her materials confiscated and her computer bugged, all because of the books she was reading and the web sites she was visiting -- that's new. That's the Patriot Act, and when I said a year ago (on a bulletin board I frequent) that this precise scenario frightened me, I was accused of being overdramatic. Gahhhhhhhh.

[chazzbanner.livejournal.com]

I agree with several people above. Someone on LJ reported a threat, and the Secret Service had to investigate it. It's upsetting to realize someone would do that, but not as scary as it would be if we found out LJ was monitored electronically.

[volkhvoi.livejournal.com]

As seems to be my habit, allow me to contribute a reference.

Angela Roddey Holder, John Thomas Roddey Holder, _The Meaning of the Consitution_ is a good basic primer on the US constitution and its amendments. If you have a credit card at Amazon.com, you can search its pages.

The section on Amendment 1, which regards, among other issues, the freedom of speech and its limits, begins on p. 59. The subsection on freedom of speech and on what constitutes sedition begins on page 60.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[bellanna.livejournal.com]

I read the original. It was meant to be fun, she was asking God to smite him down, telling her readers to join in prayer to make it happen. I came across you as I am googling for the original for a friend to read.