In April this year, Matthew M. Thomas - then a freshman at Stephen F. Austin State University in the forested East Texas town of Nacogdoches - sent an e-mail massage to President Clinton: "One of these days, I'm going to come to Washington and blow your little head off. I have a bunch of guns, I can do it." Thomas's message also threatened Hillary Rodham Clinton and presidential daughter Chelsea, "because they deserve to die as well." Thomas got a personal response, not from President Clinton, but from the US Secret Service.
On June 21, the 19-year-old pleaded guilty to the federal charge of sending an interstate threat to another person, according to Title 18, United States Code Section 875(c). He now faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, a US$250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
Thomas used the name, date of birth, and social security number of a former roommate to gain access to the university's computer. Secret Service agents determined culpability in a rather low-tech way: they interviewed the owner of the account and "got some leads," according to Assistant US Attorney Allen Hurst. They then interviewed several students from Thomas's dorm, and eventually extracted Thomas's confession. Stephen F. Austin State University's computer access policy is now under review, said Mike Jennings, computing and telecommunications officer. He said changes in policy, however, could do little to prevent similar incidents.
"I hope it will wake people up and make people realize they could be prosecuted for sending threatening messages over e-mail systems," said Hurst, who is based in Tyler, Texas, and is handling the prosecution. Prosecutors don't need to show that the accused intended to or could have carried out a threat. In fact, Hurst said the US Attorney's office had no such proof in Thomas's case.
"Sending the threat is itself a crime, as long as it's not just a joke, or a mistake, or some kind of idle talk," Hurst said. At press time, Thomas's sentencing was expected by mid-September.
ELECTRIC WORD
In Jail for E-mail
