Does it seem like Wisconsin has more than its share of weirdoes?
Yesterday, the big news was that seven NFL stadiums were being targeted with dirty bombs.
Although the threat wasn't considered credible, Homeland Security put the NFL on notice "out of an abundance of caution."
Milwaukee's NBC affiliate Today's TMJ4 has video of the story.
At the end of TMJ4's Wednesday 10:00 pm newscast, they had information that a Milwaukee man was being questioned by the FBI.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has more:
The FBI interviewed a Milwaukee resident today who officials believe was involved in posting Internet threats about dirty bomb attacks on NFL football stadiums this weekend. The threats appeared to be phony.
The person, described only as a young adult, did not appear to have any ties to terrorist groups, according to a Washington law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
In Milwaukee, Mike Johnson, a special agent with that FBI office, made the following statement:
"An individual came forward and provided information to the Milwaukee division of the FBI about the threat against the NFL stadiums. The government still believes this threat is not credible. As this is an ongoing matter, we are not be able to provide any additonal information at this time."
The AP reports that the threat appeared on a website called "The Friend Society." Today, I tried unsuccessfully to go to the site. For obvious reasons, it's gone.
Last night, it was being swamped with hits. I did get to it briefly, a home page with a black background and links printed in red. I didn't click on any of the links, but I believe the AP's description of the site as connecting to various online forums and off-color cartoons is a fair characterization.
The URL for "The Friend Society" is (was) http://thefucksociety.com/.
I think that's sort of a tip off right there about the sort of site it is.
It certainly appears that the dirty bomb threat was posted by some goof on a weird forum and completely lacks credibility.
At this point, it's not clear whether or not the Milwaukee "young adult" is "javness."
It's possible that the Milwaukee individual came forward with information about the threat but was not responsible for it.
I hope so.
I hope the Wisconsinite gets credit for proving the threat to be a hoax or a sick joke rather than being its source.
Wisconsin doesn't need to add another name to its list of nationally-known nutjobs.
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The latest:
Internet threats of "dirty bomb" attacks at NFL stadiums this weekend were a hoax, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said Thursday.
The FBI made the announcement after agents questioned a 20-year-old Milwaukee man in an effort to determine who made the threats, which were posted on a Web site last week.
"This is a hoax," said Special Agent Richard Kolko, a spokesman at the FBI's Washington headquarters. A joint statement from the FBI and Homeland Security said fans "should be reassured of their security as they continue to attend sporting events this weekend."
A law enforcement official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still under investigation, said the determination was made based on a computer search and questioning of the Milwaukee man, whose comments led them to determine that he was involved.
No decision has been made yet on whether charges will be filed, the official said.
..."From the information we have, we believe he was involved to some extent, but we don't know at what level," said FBI agent Douglas E. Porrini. He added: "That person was released, but we're not saying that he won't be charged."
There has to be consequences for posting such threats on the Internet.
I hope those involved are charged. There's no question that they should be.
Investigating threats costs money. The fears that result from such threats have economic repercussions.
It's no joke.
Doofuses on the Internet should not be able to post threats with impunity, whether the threat involves bombing a stadium filled with tens of thousands of people or harming an individual.
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