April 22, 2014
Judge Tom
1

14-year-old arrested for airline tweet

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Sarah thought she was just joking when she decided to send American Airlines a tweet. Her message led to her arrest in April, 2014. Decide for yourself. Sarah tweeted:

“@AmericanAir hello my name’s Ibrahim and I’m from Afghanistan. I’m part of Al Quaida and on June 1st I’m gonna do something really big bye.”

TwitterLogoThe airline reacted by replying to Sarah: ” . . . we take these threats very seriously. Your IP address and details will be forwarded to security and the FBI.”

Sarah commented that it was all a joke. “I’m so stupid, I’m scared,” she later wrote. She and her mother reported to a police station in the Netherlands. The matter is under investigation and charges may be filed.

Wake up teens!  You know by now that words matter and can result in unexpected consequences. Think before you post.

Judge Tom

The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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