People Arrested For Dumb Social Media Posts
People arrested for dumb social media posts kind of had it coming to them. From the teens who jokingly threaten lives on Twitter to those who took to Facebook to organize full-scale riots, all of these people have one thing in common: each were arrested for a common-sense-bending social media post.
In our world where Snapchats, Instagrams, Facebook posts, and Tweets spread information instantly, it's entirely too easy for those who are dumb enough to put their death threats and otherwise unclean thoughts on the web for all to see. Unfortunately for them, social media is also a place where law enforcement monitors activity to catch just these kind of threats.
So between the Dutch teen who jokingly tweeted a threat to American Airlines, to the sports fan who threatened to shoot his favorite British diver after he didn't bring home a medal at the 2012 Olympics, to the Los Angeles man who asked for retweets to take out some innocent victims with his sniper rifle, there is not shortage of stories about dumb things posted on social media that led to arrests - sometimes, even years in prison.
Folks, the next time you make a social media post, be it about your excitement for a concert or your plans for your next vacation, take a moment to think before you press send. That moment of clarity might just keep you out of jail.Mass Shooter Dylann Roof's Sister Posted About Shooting People On Snapchat
Morgan Roof, mass shooter Dylann Roof's sister, was arrested on March 15, 2018 after she posted on Snapchat that people protesting gun violence should be shot. She posted the message on her private account, but when students at her school saw it, they reported her to a school resource officer. "I hope it's a trap and y'all get shot," she wrote, according to the New York Times. "We know it's fixing to be nothing but Black people walkin out anyway."
When she was arrested at her South Carolina high school, police found marijuana, a knife, and pepper spray on her. Her post was in response to a national movement of students walking out of class to show support for gun reform. It was organized after 17 people were killed at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 19, 2018.
In 2016, her older brother Dylann killed nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, said he wanted to start a race war. All of his victims were Black. He was convicted on all counts in 2017 after pleading guilty to avoid the death penalty.
Escaped Prisoner Got Caught At Mexican Resort
A fugitive who escaped from the Payette County jail in Idaho was arrested by U.S. marshals after he posted his whereabouts on Instagram. They nabbed Nicholas Grove, who escaped by scaling a fence in 2014, in Tulum, Mexico, thanks in large part to the selfies he posted at a resort.
"Social media certainly played a role originally because this particular individual bragged about his escape on Facebook," Marshal Brian Underwood said. It's a good lesson from criminals and non-criminals alike: Keep your vacation photos to yourself.Woman Posted Facebook Photo Showing Her Murder Victim And Weapon
Eighteen-year-old Brittney Gargol was found strangled to death by a landfill in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 2016. A belt, apparently the murder weapon, was found near her body.
The belt belonged to Cheyenne Rose Antoine. The authorities identified her as the likely murderer thanks to a picture she had posted on Facebook hours before Gargol's death. The photo showed Antoine, wearing the belt, standing by Gargol.
Antoine pleaded guilty to manslaughter, saying she and Gargol had gotten into a drunken argument. She was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Teen Sent Murder Scene Selfie Via Snapchat
Snapchatting a selfie with you and your victim is the perfect way to share a crime scene photo, right? Seven seconds of revelry and then the evidence disappears. Until the person on the receiving end snaps a screen shot with your user name on full display, of course.
Maxwell Marion Morton (no relation to Matron Mama) was charged with first-degree murder in Pennsylvania after he sent a Snapchat of himself and his victim (16-year-old Ryan Mangan) to several people, one of whom took a screenshot of the (perhaps) unintentional confession.
Source: TheVerge.comDutch Girl Arrested For American Airlines Threat
"Hello my name's Ibrahim and I'm from Afghanistan. I'm part of Al Qaida and on June 1st I'm going to do something really big bye." was the tweet sent by 14-year-old Sarah, @QueenDemetriax_ on Twitter, in April 2014, supposedly as a joke. The folks over at @AmericanAir however were not laughing and quickly responded by saying, "@QueenDemetriax_ Sarah, we take these threats very seriously. Your IP address and details will be forwarded to security and the FBI."
What followed, before the account was suspended, was the complete implosion of the so-called joke and an insane freak out by the Dutch teen. After pleading that she's "just a girl" and vowing not to tell her parents about her momentary lapse in sanity, Sarah later turned herself into police where she was charged with posting a false or alarming announcement.Olympic Twitter Rant Went A Step Too Far
Athletes are easy targets for hate mail when they lose, but in the case of British diver Tom Daley, the messages he received after failing to medal at the 2012 Olympics took that hate to a scary new level. Twitter user @Rileyy_69 didn't just go on a rant about how Daley "let us all down" and how he would "rather support a tramp," this fan, or former fan, threatened to shoot the Brit too.
"I hold a gun license for shooting birds and I'm gonna shoot yours as well," was the tweet that earned @Rileyy_69 a visit from Dorset police following a tip from Olympic officials, who were closely monitoring Twitter for safety reasons. Charges for malicious communications soon followed. No word on the kid's new favorite athlete following this incident.