UPDATE, June 5, 2008: Brahm sentenced
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Jake J. Brahm (aka "javness")
Time for an update on Wauwatosa man Jake J. Brahm---
Brahm has accepted responsibility for posting threats on the Internet.
NEWARK, N.J. -- A man pleaded guilty Thursday to making bogus Internet postings warning of terrorist attacks against seven NFL stadiums in 2006.
Jake J. Brahm admitted that he posted false information that so-called dirty bombs would be detonated at the stadiums in Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland, Cleveland and New York on Oct. 22, 2006.
He said the reference to New York was intended to indicate Giants Stadium, in East Rutherford, N.J., where the Jets played the Detroit Lions that day.
Brahm, 22, of Wauwatosa, Wis., pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment that had been handed up exactly a year earlier. The charge, part of the Patriot Act, accused him of willfully conveying false information that the stadiums would be attacked by terrorists with weapons of mass destruction and "radiological dispersal devices."
Brahm admitted composing and posting the threat about 40 times on a Web site between September and Oct. 18, 2006. The message said that bombs would be delivered by trucks and that "the death toll will approach 100,000 from the initial blasts and countless other fatalities will later occur as result from radioactive fallout."
The posting added that the stadium explosions would be praised by Osama bin Laden as "America's Hiroshima" and spark global conflicts.
That's extremely serious stuff.
Brahm remains free on bail and faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced June 5 by U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares.
A message seeking comment from Brahm's lawyer, Walter A. Lesnevich, was not immediately returned. When Brahm was indicted last year, the lawyer said the incident was "greatly blown out of proportion."
"This was a stupid mistake by a kid that nobody took seriously," Lesnevich said last year.
Wrong.
It was a "stupid mistake" by a MAN that lots of people took seriously.
What did Brahm's threat cost taxpayers? How much fear did Brahm succeed in spreading?
I hope that Brahm's sentence will reflect the high toll his "prank" cost, both in dollars and fear.
4 comments:
What a load of crap. Brahm had no intention of 'wasting taxpayers' money', just deriving amusement from tricking a few people who would be stupid enough to take everything they read on the Internet seriously. If I recall, he posted his hoax threats about three or four times on a single website which is known for being inundated with stories of extremely dubious truth. The spread of the hoax was done by others who are equally guilty of his 'crime', yet he is the one punished with a potential sentence of a five-year imprisonment. I can't see him posting those messages expecting them to be believed by the Department of Homeland Security.
i know exactly what the guy really did Mary (i knew him well), and you might be right. he cost a lot of people a lot of time, effort, and worry.
but you're not right about him knowing what he was really doing at the time.
i don't know, it's a touchy situation for me, since i certainly don't condone his actions, either.
How could he not know the consequences of what he was doing?
I say this with all seriousness: Is he mentally-challenged? Does he have some condition or disability that would hinder his understanding of his own actions?
I think many people don't grasp the power of the Internet. They have a false sense of security when it comes to their anonymity.
The Problem is that people are taking all of the internet as Serious Business when the websites he was posting on clearly state: "The stories and information posted here are artistic works of fiction and falsehood.
Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
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