Secret Service interrogates Tacoma 7th grader

Secret Service interrogates Tacoma 7th grader

www.q13fox.com

A Tacoma seventh grader faced federal interrogation at school for what he posted on his Facebook page. His mom said it all happened without her knowledge or permission. Timi Robertson said she had just finished lunch with a friend Friday when she got a phone call from her son's school.

"I answered it, and it's the school security guard who's giving me a heads up that the Secret Service is here with the Tacoma Police Department and they have Vito and they're talking to him," Robertson said.

After Osama bin Laden was killed, 13-year-old Vito LaPinta posted an update to his Facebook

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What the hell is going on with this current administartion and Law Enfocement? Just toss the law books and do whatever you want?

Tack this onto the list of US CITIZEN abuse. The Fn courts better start getting involved and slapping the abusers HARD.

The US Secret Service-of all groups. I could see if it was a college student etc but a 7th grader.

Sounds to me like the US S.S sent a rookie to do a mans job.... so-to-speak.

Lucky this wasn't my kid. I sure hope an agressive attorney sees this story and goes after them.

www.q13fox.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I hope the parents press charges and sue the balls off of the secret service!! I am sick of rights being violated, this is just obsurd!!

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein


I am thinking the ACLU will have to step up for the family.

I am not a big propoent of the ACLU but they do seve a purpose with taking on the gov't.

One thing for sure, if we don't stand up for our rights, they will be taken away or abused.

Words can't desribe how utterly stupid this was.

If they wanted to do something like this they could have handled it so much better.

Why not let the Secret Service do a talk to the whole school and explain what exactly their role and function is and say how sometimes people post silly things on Facebook, but we're all a bunch of F**cking morons and can't use our common sense to decide what might be a threat and might not.

I can understand wanting to question someone about a post like that, but once you realize its a seventh grader? Is this really neccessary?

Well, if anyone doubted the direction that the governance model is taking you'd better start paying attention.

And never speak your mind.

Please folks, let's let at this sensibly. The kid was not under arrest, and the SS folks just wanted to talk to him about something which is DEADLY SERIOUS. How were his "rights" violated?

Let’s look at the situation: An unknown person – it’s the internet; it could really be anyone! - purporting to be a junior high school on his Facebook page writes a comment that could EASILY be construed as a thinly veiled threat against our president. The Secret Service, clued into this possible threat, decides that they must know for certain who it was that made this statement, and what their intent was. Just because someone says on Facebook that they're some innocent little kid living in Washington state doesn't mean that they are. So the SS finds out who the person make the statement purports to be, determines where they might talk to him, and shows up at the school. Surprise surprise, it's an adolescent not yet concerned or even aware that many meanings may be read into a simple statement when that statement is lacking in nuance or awareness that outsiders can read into things ideas which weren't in the mind of the communicator. Imagine a 14-year-old communicating in a clumsy fashion! Whoa!

That anyone would be outraged or concerned that the Secret Service is covering ALL their bases is lunacy. Again, they didn't detain this child, and they have to assume that he could have actually been threatening the president. Must law enforcement officers consult with parents or guardians if a 14-year-old kid makes a veiled threat to an adult on the street? The answer is 'no,' The SS was in the position of determining the true nature of a perceived threat, and through their investigation, found that there was nothing to be alarmed about. Case closed!

It reminds me of that time, last year I think, when a young lad in Britain left a comment on the White House website giving his opinion in no uncertain terms what he thought of Obama.

Well....the FBI got in touch with the police in Britain and made sure he was punished for criticising the Fuhrer.

He was banned from America for life.

reply to post by mahajohn


Yeah but it's called common sense, something they seem to be sadly lacking.

I dread to think what sort of buffoons are actually protecting the President on a daily basis.

What exactly was threatening about his comment?

It seems his comment was merely parroting the mainstream media propaganda anyway, of there being risk of new attacks due to Bin Laden's death.

reply to post by anon72
The seventh grader should be charged with treason.

Then he would learn his lesson.

/sarcasm

reply to post by boncho


If he wasn't going to surrender why didn't they just send in the Navy Seals to shoot him.

Then again he may have used the headmaster as a human shield.

Is this is a case of a mountain being made out of molehill?

The kid posted about suicide bombers and that the "president better be careful".

I'm thinking, 7th grader or not, that's going to get the Secret Service's attention. They take all threats seriously. They questioned him in the principal's office. If he had made a threat of gun or knife violence or even fisticuffs on Facebook he would have been questioned by the local police, why make a bigger deal out of it when it's the Secret Service questioning about a reference to suicide bombing?

Maybe the mother can be a little more involved in her kid's life and know what he's saying and doing on Facebook.

this is most likely a heads up to the rest of us, watch what you say where you post it or else. if he was 18 but you he be off to git mo bay.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


I see your point.

But when you think of the Secret Service you imagine they have a level of professionalism and good judgement which quite frankly seems to have been thrown out the window on this one.

How long will it be before they just start questioning anything that's anti-American?

"He told me it was because of a post I made that indicated I was a threat toward the President."

> After Osama bin Laden was killed, 13-year-old Vito LaPinta
> 13-year-old
> 13

The Secret Service are clearly idiots... I understand they have to follow things up but it's not like the 13 year old is gunna go into some sort of survival mode when he sees some dudes coming to question him...
I think we should all post "Obama is going to get bombed" or "I hate Obama, lets go bomb him" on facebook just to see what happens...

What I find scarier is that the Secret Service found this kids status hidden away on Facebook. Just shows you that everything you do on the internet is monitored!

Wow, that's crazy. Did the school check his credentials what is going on here ??!?!?
This is getting scary the guys from VerifiedGold were predicting this like 4 years ago and I heard rumors they're about to release their encryption tools into the public domain. I noticed on this forum people were discussing it so I joined.

I also heard about this site that has like a distributed social network that will allow you to control your privacy better. It's ridiculous when 1st graders are getting into trouble over some facebook posts. It's truly the stuff from children-books.

Very sad state of affairs.....

reply to post by Kram09


To be fair, depending on how they talked to him we can't really make that judgement. In the old days, (small communities) a cop might just call someones parents, have a chat and they'd pass it on [or the parents might invite the cop over to have a talk as a precaution].

Of course, we are in the digital age now. And while what the kid said doesn't seem to be bad, it can be easily misinterpreted, especially on a semi-anonymous platform.

So... Should it have been ignored? (Not when you consider that 15 year olds have done some pretty heinous things)

But should the parents have been talked to first? Yes.

reply to post by Kram09


What we know from this article is that he was questioned by one agent in the principle's office. The kid states the the agent talked to him about what he posted and they agreed he should be more careful in the future what he writes. Doesn't sound to me like he was "interrogated" and traumatized by the event. And we can't blame the S.S. for responding to what may have appeared to be a genuine suicide bombing threat - and they HAVE to investigate those type of threats. I'd like to think that by the age of 14, most kids start to learn what they say and do can appear to be a threat to others or not, and this kid's mother should at least have been aware of what her kid was doing on Facebook. More like another case of blame the system for lack of parental oversight.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


Pff he should be allowed to write what he wants.
They have basically 'scared' him into not posting controversial things anymore which is terrible for free speech. Now when he wants to speak his mind about world affairs he might think twice before saying something untoward the government. You don't have to be too intimidating to indoctrinate a child.