Justin Carter, the 19-year-old facing a felony terrorism charge for an alleged Facebook threat, appears to have a very wealthy supporter.
After spending nearly four months behind bars, the San Antonio resident's $500,000 bail was paid this week by an "anonymous good Samaritan," defense attorney Don Flanary told MSNBC.
The incident in question occurred in February, when, in the throes of a Facebook argument over online multiplayer game League of Legends, Carter (pictured) was called "crazy." Instead of laughing off the insult, the Texas teen responded with what he thought was a joke: "I'm f?ed in the head alright. I think I'ma shoot up a kindergarten and watch the blood of the innocent rain down and eat the beating heart of one of them."
Flanary told MSNBC that, while the remark was "crass and distasteful and crude," it did not constitute a legitimate threat.
But not everyone agreed. Someone involved in the debate sent a screenshot of Carter's post to the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association, a nonprofit that pays rewards of up to $2,000 to anyone whose tip leads to an arrest.
The information made its way to the Austin Regional Intelligence Center (ARIC) in Texas, leading to an Austin Police Department arrest warrant for the then-18-year-old.
Since his detainment on Feb. 14, Carter was moved from Austin's Travis County Jail, where his bail was set at $250,000, to the Comal County jail in New Braunfels, Texas. Upon his transfer in March, a county judge doubled his bail, bringing it to a total of $500,000.
Carter initially rejected a plea deal to serve eight years in prison; now he faces up to 10 years behind bars, if convicted.
"I just think that it's been taken out of context, and it's been blown out of proportion," Carter told CNN New Day this week.
"I have said all along that his Facebook joke was made in poor taste and understand why it raised some concern," his mother, Jennifer Carter, wrote on an online petition this week. "But Justin has no prior record and he was clearly not actually threatening anyone. ? We need to make sure he's not labeled as a terrorist simply for making a Facebook comment."
The petition, started by Jennifer Carter, has been signed by more than 127,000 people from around the world. In it, the grief-stricken mother pleads for help, saying that while in jail, her son was frequently assaulted and locked in solitary for weeks. She updated the page on Thursday with news of the anonymous bailout.
No one has come forward as Carter's savior. In the case of Paul Chambers, the Irish man who made a joke on Twitter about bombing his local airport, actor/writer Stephen Fry offered to fund Chambers's defense.
Carter, meanwhile, seems to have learned his lesson. In an interview with CNN, he warned other Internet users to always think twice before pressing send.
"I just want to make it clear that people should be very, very careful what they say, and it's being recorded all the time if you say it on any website, anywhere," he said. "And you can get in trouble for something that's not something you should get in trouble for. And I just want people to be warned."
Carter is due in court July 16.
Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2421714,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05079TX1K0000993
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