It's funny, because somebody made a topic threatining the presidents life not too long ago to which I replied with a remark about how stupid everybody was being for going along with the joke.

If I remember correctly I got flamed for it.

It's nothing new... this isn't a post 9/11 fear tactic... it's always been this way. In fact, it was the first thing I learned when I learned about the freedom of speech amendment. Maybe they don't teach that in school anymore... probably not enough time considering the american eductional system has turned into little more then a workshop on how to pass the SOLs.

Well considering I'm not an American Citizen... I could make any threats I wanted against your president.

At 5/24/07 11:05 AM, WadeFulp wrote:

At 5/24/07 01:47 AM, BoIogna wrote: You know who I'd really like to assassinate right now? George W. Bush, the current president of the United States.

You know Madcow, using an alt won't keep the SS from finding you.

God, and here I thought that guy was smart.

So next time someone posts 'All muslims should die' in the politics section, I trust that there is an appropriate federal institution I can report it too that would take it as seriously as the SS. Because lets face it, I find it 1000% more believable that some of you would do race hate crime than would be able to hurt the president. So, guys... I've got my eyes on you!

WPFF = lame

are you sure they weren't there for your kidie pr0n?

all of this is leading toward: Internet2
and then they’ll have complete control...

Well, there's a joke :D

Even if this bollocks is true, they don't have jurisdiction here. Boohoo. So I can threathen your president all I like.

It's true what they say. The internet IS serious buisiness.

BTW the SS has no power outside the USA..

so if someone from the good old UK makes a joke threat there won't be any problem :D!

oh, feel free to threaten our leaders.. who doens't ;)

I'm not sure if is the time I've been most glad of the fact stated in the graph below, but it goes to the top 5.

This post is not a threat to the president

At 5/24/07 11:14 AM, Sarai wrote: So next time

Because 'all muslims' is a specific person. :\

Good lord, I think you're being argumentative just for the sake of it. News Flash -- you cannot make direct threats towards ANY specific person without the possibility of an investiagtion and/or criminal charges. Harrassment on the internet against individuals is forbidden by law here as well. They happen to take the threats towards the leader of our country a little seriously when someone phones/emails in and reports it.

Wade, I made a longer post about this on page 7 - short question, it was a phone call, so how do you know it was not a hoax?

Maybe threatening account deletion was taking it to far, but I did it because I felt many of you wouldn't take this seriously. The main point of this topic is to make people aware that if they make a threat they risk having the Secret Service show up at their home.

For Sarai, I'm trying to warn people from making mistakes in the future. If there is aready Flash content as you described (yet you didn't link to anything to prove it) it's in the past, it's already been done. If the SS wants to investigate those people, fine, it's to late for me to warn those users. However, it's not to late for me to warn users who may have thought about doing this in the future.

As far as users not living in the USA, I don't know what the deal is for you. Maybe you get labeled a terrorist by the US Government and it would give them grounds to come abduct you and send you to Gitmo. Who knows. I wouldn't want to find out.

As many others had said, the freedom of speech in the USA does not grant USA citizens the freedom to threaten people. If I go to my neighbor "Hey! I'm going to kill you!" he can call the police and they will come have a talk with me.

I was taught all this stuff in grade school. I'm surprised many of you here weren't taught the same thing.

At 5/24/07 11:19 AM, Fyndir wrote:

At 5/24/07 11:14 AM, Sarai wrote: So next time someone posts 'All muslims should die' in the politics section, I trust that there is an appropriate federal institution I can report it too that would take it as seriously as the SS.

Given the lack of a specific threat I doubt that a lot could be done, but you're well within your rights to try.

Indeed, indeed:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire /6677559.stm

At 5/24/07 11:29 AM, WadeFulp wrote:
I was taught all this stuff in grade school. I'm surprised many of you here weren't taught the same thing.

You have to take into consideration how many actually payed attention in grade school.

At 5/24/07 11:29 AM, WadeFulp wrote: As far as users not living in the USA, I don't know what the deal is for you. Maybe you get labeled a terrorist by the US Government and it would give them grounds to come abduct you and send you to Gitmo. Who knows. I wouldn't want to find out.

That'd be a laugh.

At 5/24/07 11:29 AM, WadeFulp wrote: Maybe threatening account deletion was taking it to far, but I did it because I felt many of you wouldn't take this seriously. The main point of this topic is to make people aware that if they make a threat they risk having the Secret Service show up at their home.

For Sarai, I'm trying to warn people from making mistakes in the future. If there is aready Flash content as you described (yet you didn't link to anything to prove it) it's in the past, it's already been done. If the SS wants to investigate those people, fine, it's to late for me to warn those users. However, it's not to late for me to warn users who may have thought about doing this in the future.

I appreciate your warning *to* the users. Afterall if they invite it on themselves they're just being idiots. To warn them that this occurred is a good thing. I just thought you'd take this with a pinch of Newgrounds salt. Anyway, yeah... warning people is good.

So, please SS don't key word match me on this but Hang Bush That's Newgrounds. For better or for worse. *shrug*

Also it isn't just the Secret Service, in the USA it is a federal CRIME to threaten the President:

THREATS AGAINST PRESIDENT - 18 USC 871, makes it a Federal crime or offense for anyone to willfully make a true threat to injure or kill the President of the United States.

A person can be found guilty of that offense only if all of the following facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:

First: That the person uttered words alleged to be the threat against the President;

Second: That the person understood and meant the words he used as a true threat; and

Third: That the person uttered the words knowingly and willfully.

A "threat" is a statement expressing an intention to kill or injure the President; and a "true threat" means a serious threat as distinguished from words used as mere political argument, idle or careless talk, or something said in a joking manner.

The essence of the offense is the knowing and willful making of a true threat. So, if it is proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the person knowingly made a true threat against the President, willfully intending that it be understood by others as a serious threat, then the offense is complete; it is not necessary to prove that the person actually intended to carry out the threat.

I guess the Secret Service investigates to see if it was a true threat, or not.

Haha, you Americans are nazis.

At 5/23/07 11:17 PM, WadeFulp wrote: While I was happy to assist the Secret Service in their investigation, and the agent was very nice and proffesional, I don't appreciate that the user who made the threat wasted my time and our government's time.

I'm sorry but that's the government wasting your time

Freedom of speech my fucking ass

At 5/24/07 11:35 AM, Sarai wrote: So, please SS don't key word match me on this but Hang Bush That's Newgrounds. For better or for worse. *shrug*

The author is probably at risk for being investigated if someone were to report that. However, I don't see how that is relevant to our discussion here. Just because someone has made threats against the President on Newgrounds in the past, has nothing to do with me warning people that they shouldn't do it. People murder people in the USA all the time. Does that give me the right to murder people? Does that mean murder should be okay because people have gotten away with it?

No one is saying you can't talk badly about Bush. I'm just saying you can't make a death threat towards him without the risk of the Secret Service getting involved.

You seem to be saying I telling people not to talk badly about Bush. I never said that. If you want to say he's a horrible President, a horrible person, etc, that's fine. That's not threatening his life.

At 5/24/07 11:43 AM, biblo wrote: Freedom of speech my fucking ass

Guess you didn't pay attention in school when they went over your rights as a United States citizen, if you even are one.

The Freedom of Speech doesn't give you the freedom to threaten people with death. It doesn't allow you to say "I have a bomb!" on an airplane, yell "FIRE!" at the movies (if there is no fire), etc.

And again most of the NG populus are morons.

From the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

freedom of speech

Right, as stated in the 1st and 14th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, to express information, ideas, and opinions free of government restrictions based on content. A modern legal test of the legitimacy of proposed restrictions on freedom of speech was stated in the opinion by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in Schenk v. U.S. (1919): a restriction is legitimate only if the speech in question poses a "clear and present danger" — i.e., a risk or threat to safety or to other public interests that is serious and imminent. Many cases involving freedom of speech and of the press also have concerned defamation, obscenity, and prior restraint (see Pentagon Papers). See also censorship.

At 5/24/07 11:45 AM, WadeFulp wrote:

At 5/24/07 11:43 AM, biblo wrote: Freedom of speech my fucking ass

Guess you didn't pay attention in school when they went over your rights as a United States citizen, if you even are one.

The Freedom of Speech doesn't give you the freedom to threaten people with death. It doesn't allow you to say "I have a bomb!" on an airplane, yell "FIRE!" at the movies (if there is no fire), etc.

no i'm not a US citizen.
i don't see how a joke on a website can be considered a real threat though, i can understand a brief investigation but the confiscation of equipment? that's bullshit

At 5/24/07 11:52 AM, biblo wrote: i don't see how a joke on a website can be considered a real threat though, i can understand a brief investigation but the confiscation of equipment? that's bullshit

What is bullshit is that the U.S. government would use MY tax money, OUR tax money, hard earned money to investigate a threat they found on the NG BBS. Pathetic, just pathetic.

http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic.php?id=70 6250

At 5/24/07 11:43 AM, WadeFulp wrote:

At 5/24/07 11:35 AM, Sarai wrote: So, please SS don't key word match me on this but Hang Bush That's Newgrounds. For better or for worse. *shrug*

The author is probably at risk for being investigated if someone were to report that. However, I don't see how that is relevant to our discussion here. Just because someone has made threats against the President on Newgrounds in the past, has nothing to do with me warning people that they shouldn't do it. People murder people in the USA all the time. Does that give me the right to murder people? Does that mean murder should be okay because people have gotten away with it?

No one has the right to make threats that are 'true' threats against others. That is not free speach that is criminality. Don't please confuse me with some of these noobs going on about 'free speech'. ALso don't confuse me with someone who is a bitch who doesn't want you to warn people a bit. It's a good thing you did that.

I appreciate that having the SS calling you would be very bad and unexpected. But I would hope to see you or Stamper or someone making fun of this in the way you've made fun of many, many things of a serious nature before. I don't know, I'm not normally that kind of person who wants to see that, but for some reason this topic about the SS just got me going and thinking of a country where the threat of a police investigation is mostly enough to stifle the people. I used to live in that country. *shrug* Weird feeling.

First thing: I think it's wrong calling the Secret Service 'SS', because in the time of WWII the SS were the personal bodyguards of Hitler.

If I remember correctly.

Second of all: Don't blame WillPostForFood.
He didn't do anything wrong.
Although it wasn't necessary (sp?), he did what he was supposed to do.
What I do find hard to understand, is how he thinks it's funny.

Anyway, I think he's a douchebag :3

<3

At 5/24/07 11:55 AM, Idiot-Finder wrote: http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic.php?id=70 6250

Yep, your name holds true. Someone has to test the waters and tests the seriousness of the admins.

At 5/24/07 11:38 AM, WadeFulp wrote: in the USA it is a federal CRIME to threaten the President

in the uk (and probs other countrys) it's a crimeto deface the queens image on bank notes and coins.

there's probs a sinular law over there in the usa.

its's probs a crime to make fun of or jokes about your countrys leader aswell but people do that..

law's are there to be broken ;)

it's a crime to make death threats to anyone actullly, even ng members..