Texan faces charges for posting Obama death threat

[sabra]

Source: AP

DALLAS — A Dallas man has been charged with threatening to kill President Barack Obama in an online posting.

A criminal complaint indicates Brian Dean Miller was upset about health care reform, citing his March 21 Craigslist post.

The complaint says the 43-year-old has admitted he threatened to kill the president.

It says he called for a revolution and that he was "dedicating (his) life to the death of Obama and every employee of the federal government."

Agents subpoenaed Craigslist and AT&T to track Miller down.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hfnLVdpsv5FulQzy-0zUNd_fdUugD9FCQUB00

[hobbit709]

1. STOOPID wins again over brains.

Did he really think that he couldn't be traced.

[gateley]

2. Good - I hope they throw the book at him. nt

[CLANG]

20. I hope they throw the whole library!

[gateley]

40. Although in Texas, that's not much of an arsenal.

Sorry, couldn't resist. :evilgrin:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. Well, that's one less Republican vote in the Dallas area.

Dallas was already blue, but I'm sure the good people there appreciate the feds getting rid of one more nutter.

[and-justice-for-all]

4. GOOD!!

now they need to arrest that piece of shit that started that 'praying for Obama's death" face book page....Because it is the same damn thing.

[NoNothing]

7. I don't think it's the same thing

Stating your wish that X would die is not the same as saying "I will kill X"

[and-justice-for-all]

8. I disagree...nt

[paulsby]

12. common sense, and case law disagree

with you .

[and-justice-for-all]

14. LOL...ok..

So since they are hiding behind their religion, it makes it different? They are, in fact, inciting a violent act against the President that is only masked by religion, which makes it OK...

Sorry, but commonsense tells me that anyone advocating such hostility, be it in religious tone, is on par with the same thing as the dumbass in the OP.

[paulsby]

16. it has nothing to do with religion

if one said "i hope the president dies of cancer" that would also be constitutionally protected

whether or not its based on prayer or hope

it's not a "TRUE THREAT" under the law

if you can't understand the difference, then you need to study some law.

they are NOT in fact "inciting" a violent act. the current case vis a vis incitement under the federal standard is brandenburg

feel free to READ it. and understand why you are wrong

[RaleighNCDUer]

21. It is not the same as saying "I will kill X" -

it is more like saying "I think it is god's will that someone ELSE kill X" to a crowd who firmly believe in following god's will.

It is soliciting for the first nut job to come along to do what he's scared to do himself.

[paulsby]

23. ah, the nutcase veto

this constant meme i see to attack free speech that you shouldn't say X, because some nutjob might take it as a call to violence

by that "logic", environmentalists shouldn't say stuff like "corporations are ruining the environment" because some nutjobs take that as a rationale to firebomb building, vehicles, houses, etc. as has happened numerous times by ALF, ELF, etc.

it's kind of a variation of the heckler's veto

i dub it the nutcase veto

[RaleighNCDUer]

25. I'm not saying they can't say it -

I am merely clarifying what they are saying and why they are saying it.

[paulsby]

26. i'm not saying you are saying it

i am saying that metric assloads of people say people SHOULDN'T say it, and in some cases DO believe they should be prosecuted

many people here thought oreilly should be prosecuted/sued because he referred to "tiller the baby killer" and subsequently somebody (who apprarently listened to oreilly show) killed tiller.

i don't buy this.

nor do, fortunately, the courts

[paulsby]

11. no, it's not. but don't let your ignorance of the 1st amendment get in the way of the rant

and fwiw, the praying thang was stolen from a new jersey teacher's union email.

[and-justice-for-all]

15. I do not give a shit where it came from....

it is an advocate for hostility towards the President, sorry, it is what it is and it is asking for someone to take up the action.

[paulsby]

18. there is no crime against "advocating for hostility"

please read the case law. brandenburg would be a nice start

note taht under brandenburg even IF praying was "advocating for hostility", it would not be a true threat.

in fact, brandenburg said MERE ADVOCACY of violence is NOT criminal

hth

case law. it's what's for dinner

"Whitney has been thoroughly discredited by later decisions. See Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494, at 507 (1951). These later decisions have fashioned the principle that the constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not permit a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or of law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action."

directed to inciting imminent lawless action and is likely to ...

[provis99]

28. why exactly do you post here? Doesn't the Cato Institute suit you better?

you never spew anything but right-wing Ayn Rand libertarian bullshit.

[WildEyedLiberal]

36. The 1st Amendment is not "right-wing Ayn Rand libertarian bullshit"

:eyes:

And, he's absolutely correct about the legal difference between a true threat (which can be acted on by law enforcement and prosecuted) and free speech. I'm sorry the US Constitution does not permit you to jail everyone who says ugly, stupid things you find offensive and dangerous.

[Lance_Boyle]

37. Seems to me he's spewing relevant legal knowledge.

Do you have anything to offer other than an attack? Some sort of proof of the incorrect point you appear to support?

[bluestateguy]

5. 1 less vote fort the GOP presidential nominee in Texas in 2012

Because felons in federal prison cannot cast a ballot.

[Bette Noir]

6. Uh, yeah. Because having to pay a small tax if one refuses to buy health insurance is

soooooo unAmerican.

Well, if he wants to spend some time in prison for venting his uninformed rage, he can have it.

[alp227]

9. Justice shall be served for anyone who chooses to threaten violence towards elected officials n/t

[liberation]

10. These people are insane...

... they said not a single peep during Bush's 8 years of dismantling this country. And yet they can't take one year of a black man as president.

[proudohioan]

13. Good! It's about damn time that these crackpots are dealt with in the appropriate manner.

and not with the usual Rupukes disgusting "wink, wink" "boys will be boys" attitude, all while posting the locations of Congressmen and Senators with crosshairs and acting like it's funny.

[raouldukelives]

17. I wonder how much longer he will get

Than the burning Bush guy? Probably only a couple more years than him.

[CLANG]

19. Woohooo!!!!

Send him to the FEMA camps!!

[Ticonderoga]

22. Fucking Idiot.

[CatWoman]

24. Bloody idiot

[emulatorloo]

27. These people would be a lot less angry if they would turn of Fox News for a month

[MadMaddie]

39. There have been documented cases that people have a

change in demeanor when they turn Faux off.

[Ezlivin]

29. Dallas man accused of threatening to kill president

Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

A Dallas man describing himself as a terrorist is accused of threatening in an online post to kill President Barack Obama because he is upset about healthcare reform, according to a criminal complaint.

Brian Dean Miller, 43, faces one count of making threats against the president, which carries a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled for arraignment in federal court today.

His public defender and his mother did not return phone messages Thursday.

An Arlington resident reported the threats to the Secret Service. Agents tracked down Miller at his Dallas home, where he lives with his mother, according to the complaint. Police arrested Miller and seized his computer. They found no weapons.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/04/29/2153641/dallas-man-accused-of-threatening.html

---

Just as we've suspected all along: The right-wing keyboard warriors are middle-aged men still living with their mothers.

[sui generis]

30. well if you have powerful enemies it makes you powerful, no?

No.

What a moran. Well, I guess that's one way to get your fifteen seconds of infamy. And a big ass fine.

[old mark]

31. I can't go to jail - mom won't let me.....(sulk)....

The people who have been arrested for threatening the President all are real assholes, seem to be similar types.

Sadly from time to time, one of them succeeds.

Keep checking on them, and put them away for a long time.


m

[Stuart G]

32. I hope this stops, but

given the climate that the Right Wing has formented, I am afraid not.

[flakey_foont]

33. 43 and lives with his mom??

She must be really proud of her baby boy!

[Arby]

34. In The Sites Of Dallas

When nut-jobs in Dallas make a threat against the POTUS, history dictates to take it seriously...

[Arkana]

35. Good. Hope they lock him up for the rest of his life.

[truthisfreedom]

38. What part of his reptilian brain didn't understand what he was getting into by publicly threatening

the President of the United States?

If the guy can use a computer, he's smart enough to know that he can't get away with it. WTF?

[classysassy]

41. Parenting gone awry

mom and pop let him down,dropped him on his head and he never recovered.