Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening Obama on Twitter
A black Birmingham, Ala., man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to threatening the life of President Obama in a series of tweets, which were intermingled among hundreds of unrelated musings about women, weed and wanting to die.
Jarvis Britton, 25, wrote the Twitter threats last year and now faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced on June 20.
鈥淔ree Speech? Let鈥檚 Test This! Let鈥檚 Go Kill The President!鈥� Britton tweeted on June 29, 2012.
That was followed the next day with, 鈥淍BarackObama I wish you were dead.鈥�
But it wasn鈥檛 until 鈥渁n anonymous female caller鈥� contacted the authorities and informed them about the tweets that Secret Service agents interviewed Britton in his Birmingham home last July. According to court papers, Britton admitted posting the threatening statements but said he didn鈥檛 intend to harm the president.
He told the agents that he had been drinking and was 鈥渏ust acting stupid.鈥欌�� He even apologized for wasting the agents鈥� time. Britton was not arrested until nearly three months later, when the Secret Service Internet Threat Desk notified the Birmingham office that he was at it again.
鈥淟et鈥檚 kill the president. F.E.A.R.,鈥� he tweeted on Sept. 14, 2012.
F.E.A.R. is an acronym for an anti-government militia, Forever Enduring Always Ready. The group, largely composed of active-duty soldiers based at Fort Stewart in Georgia, was in the news around the time of Britton鈥檚 September tweets. Several of its members had been charged with killing two teenagers in an effort to keep their plot to overthrow the government and assassinate the president secret.
There is apparently no evidence that Britton had any connection to the militia.
On Sept. 19, Britton again hit the send button. 鈥淪erious question?鈥� he tweeted. 鈥淚f you knew about a terrorist group planning to kill the president, would you tell? I kinda wanna see if they can! F.E.A.R.鈥�
About 48 hours later, agents were knocking on his door again. This time, he refused to talk to them. 鈥淚 cooperated last time,鈥欌�� he said, according to court papers filed by the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office in Birmingham. 鈥淭his time I鈥檓 gonna test the system.鈥�
The system arrested him that day.
鈥淎ny threat made on the life of the president of the United States is a serious matter that will be prosecuted,鈥欌�� acting U.S. Attorney John H. England said in a statement Monday following Britton鈥檚 guilty plea.
A month after his first visit from the Secret Service, on Aug. 24, Britton tweeted, 鈥淚 sometimes wish I was dead. I think that would be so much easier. I took 10 pms last night and still woke up. Maybe I will need a whole bottle.鈥�
Britton also tweeted about being on the government鈥檚 radar. On Aug. 28 he wrote, 鈥淚f I disappear without a trace the secret service is holding me without a trial for talking about stuff I shouldn鈥檛 be talking about.鈥�
While in custody, Britton underwent a court-ordered mental evaluation. A judge later ruled that he was competent to stand trial. The trial was scheduled for Monday, the day he pleaded guilty.
