Teen in jail for months over 'sarcastic' Facebook threat

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It was a sarcastic Facebook comment during an argument about a video game. And, according to the father of 19-year-old Justin Carter, it was enough to land his son behind bars for months, facing the possibility of years in prison.

Carter, who is currently on suicide watch in Comal County Jail near San Antonio, Texas, has been locked up since February. He faces a charge of making terroristic threats, a felony that could theoretically bring a sentence of up to eight years.

"He's very depressed. He's very scared and he's very concerned that he's not going to get out," Jack Carter, Justin's father, told CNN on Tuesday. "He's pretty much lost all hope."

In February, Justin, then 18, and a friend were arguing on Facebook with someone else over the online video game "League of Legends."

"Someone had said something to the effect of 'Oh you're insane. You're crazy. You're messed up in the head,'" Jack Carter told CNN affiliate KVUE in Austin. "To which he replied 'Oh yeah, I'm real messed up in the head. I'm going to go shoot up a school full of kids and eat their still-beating hearts.'"

According to court documents, Justin wrote "I'm f---ed in the head alright. I think I'ma (sic) shoot up a kindergarten and watch the blood of the innocent rain down and eat the beating heart of one of them."

Jack Carter said his son followed the claim with "LOL" and "J/K" -- indicating that the comment wasn't serious.

But someone else -- Carter says a woman in Canada -- noticed the comment and reported it to authorities. Coming two months after the deadly shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, the report wasn't taken lightly. According to court documents, Carter lived less than a half-mile from an elementary school in New Braunfels, Texas.

A search warrant was issued on February 13 and, a week later, a judge issued a warrant for his arrest.

"I thought it was a joke," Jack Carter told CNN. "I couldn't believe the person that called me. I kept telling them they have to be kidding. When I realized he wasn't, I literally broke down crying."

A judge set bond for Justin Carter at $500,000, meaning that 10% of that, or $50,000, would have to be posted to get him out of jail while he awaits trial. His lawyer, Donald H. Flanary III, says that's far more than his family can afford.

"It's outrageous," Flanary, who is working the case for free, told CNN Tuesday. "I've represented murderers and their bond was $150,000."

Flanary said he planned to meet with Justin Carter Tuesday afternoon and ask a judge for the bond to be reduced. He said police didn't find any weapons or other items to suggest that Justin's comment was serious, but that, "in the times we're living in, it was kind of a perfect storm."

"The law enforcement, the sheriff's department, the district attorney's office -- nobody wants to be the one that let him go," Flanary said. "They don't think about the person or the crime or the lack of crime ... they don't want to take responsibility for something happening in the future."

A spokeswoman for the police department in Austin, where Justin was originally jailed, referred a request for comment and arrest documents to neighboring New Braunfels Police. A police department spokesman there did not immediately respond to a similar request.

Meanwhile, people have come together online to support the jailed teen.
A Change.org petition titled "Release Justin Carter and Change the Investigative Criteria for Terroristic Threat Laws" had received nearly 35,000 digital signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

"Too many teenagers are being arrested, jailed and having their lives forever altered because of anti-terrorism laws and investigations that impede their 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech," reads the petition.

Jack Carter says that, as a parent, he understands why authorities are so vigilant about threats of school violence.

"I definitely see the need to investigate such claims. Absolutely," he said. "But at some point during the investigation there has to be some common sense."

Teen in jail for months over 'sarcastic' Facebook threat - CNN.com

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

A judge set bond for Justin Carter at $500,000, meaning that 10% of that, or $50,000, would have to be posted to get him out of jail while he awaits trial. His lawyer, Donald H. Flanary III, says that's far more than his family can afford.

 

[ZEB WALTON]

disgusting. glad i dont live in texas.

 

[el_oh_el]

Terrible. i do live in texas. I hope the people responsible for this get what they deserve

 

[Higher Tech]

This shyt is ridiculous. Just bullshyt overkill.

 

[Dafunkdoc_Unlimited]

​

 

[VerbalIntercourse]

this is simply just desert for the likely leftist and Obama supporter.

He probably wanted to live under the Hope/change ultimate progressive super-state that Obama is implementing.

Facebook, yahoo, google, the IRS, the NSA, and telephone metadata are all tools for Obama's thought police. Live with it and Adapt.

 

[RAX 010]

Um he shouldn't have said that...

 

[sm0ke]

Um he shouldn't have said that...

do you think he deserves to be in jail for saying it?

 

[RAX 010]

do you think he deserves to be in jail for saying it?

Our govt lacks common sense and is extremly corrupt.. so im not suprised this happened. ..the kid deserves some punishment this is extreme in my opinion...but when you put yourself in a position to let the govt get involved...you better be prepared for the consequences

Smarten up kid

 

[mbewane]

Guilty until proven innocent

 

[Camammal]

Im tired of CNN and their shytty reporting, dude was on a video game (a mmorpg) when he made the comments...not facebook ...chances are you don't have random canadian women on your fb page snitching on you.

 

[yo moms]

Game aint based on sympathy

 

[RAX 010]

These kids are retarded. ...

 

[Kings County]

is he black or white