Teen Threatens Bush from Library Computer

FBI traces e-mail to VA branch; orders student to write paper on homeland security

By Alex Sinclair -- School Library Journal, 10/1/2004

A Virginia teen's recent prank backfired when he used a local library computer to threaten to kill President George Bush, blow up the White House, and take hostages unless he received a $2,000 ransom. The boy was caught and ordered to write a research paper on homeland security and law enforcement—without using a computer.

"It all got started when he used one of our computers and actually sent an e-mail to the FBI Web site, as well as the White House," said a spokesperson at the Vinton Library in Vinton, VA. Although the teen was a longtime library user who was familiar to many librarians, they were unaware that he had sent the e-mail until they were contacted by the FBI. Agents joined forces with the U.S. Secret Service and local authorities to observe patrons. When the authorities were certain they'd nailed their culprit and confronted him, the teen admitted to having sent the e-mail. The Patriot Act, which allows government officials to view patrons' library records, was not invoked, and the authorities were "very respectful and inconspicuous while monitoring patrons," the spokesperson added.

The teen—whose name is being withheld because of his age—was briefly held in a juvenile detention center before being released to his family. He pleaded guilty to extortion and was told by Roanoke County Juvenile and Domestic Relations judge Joseph Bounds that his criminal record would be wiped clean if he completed a research paper on homeland security and the police agencies involved—but without using the Internet. The boy's family has since moved from the Vinton area.

"The evidence that he'd done it was there, but it wasn't as though he was capable of following through," says prosecuting attorney Randy Leach. "This was a kid who had heard adults around him talking about the war and decided to take some action on his own."