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“Bomb threat” on Twitter…? Oh, please…

RHADS_Terminal_at_Dusk As reported over at the Doncaster Free Press, a man has been charged with a criminal offence for posting a remark about Robin Hood airport on Twitter. Dylan's covered this issue before.

Plainly, the po-faced policemen of South Yorkshire need to learn a bit of common sense and discretion. Someone joking about terrorism on Twitter might be an idiot but he’s clearly not a terrorist.

Treating this man as if he is a terrorist undermines faith in the law, and encourages the already widespread belief that the bureaucrats are going wildly over the top with their authoritarian response to the current situation.

After all, the police show no effort to understand of the context of his Tweet (i.e. he was stuck in the snow) which is obviously crucial to determining whether it was a joke in poor taste, or something remotely serious. It is plain from the context of this post here on Big Brother Watch that I am commenting on this story rather than seriously announcing any intent, but will I get a knock on the door for just writing I am going to blow up Robin Hood airport here?

By Alex Deane

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Big Brother Watch Posted in Home
  • Steve

    I agree with most of the things on this website but in this case i strongly disagree, Bomb threats and Terrorism are not laughing matters and shouldn’t be joked about. I worked in travel for a long time, an industry which has been heavily affected and suffered over the years and have no sympathy for this moron, I personally think he deserves everything he gets, Perhaps he will not be so flipant, making jokes on a subject that has caused misery and sorrow to millions of people over the years.

  • http://bastardoldholborn.blogspot.com/ Old Holborn

    Oh do shut up steve, you wanker. It is not for the Police or you to determine what a law abiding citizen finds amusing

  • Chris

    The police have lost the ability to distinguish between good and evil, and on occasions loose their head altogether.

  • Ricci Coulter

    Remember it counts as a clearance for the police. It will help them reach targets

  • marchamont

    Off topic and american – hope it’s not a hoax.
    http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/17/school-used-student.html

  • http://jess-the-dog.blogspot.com/ Jess The Dog

    Plenty of ugly monstrosities I would like to blow up….does that make me a terrorist???
    If Mr Chambers tweeted that he would obtain an explosives licence under the Explosives Act 1875, then obtain a demolition licence from the local authority, consent from the landowner and BAA, and then blow up Robin Hood Airport following the statutory notifications in line with HSE and other requirements, would this have been OK??
    Hw’s been charged under the Communications Act 2003, not under the Terrorism Act 2006. This is very significant. Were I a betting man, I would place £100 on the case being thrown out in 5 minutes and with snotty letter sent to the cops.

  • Mike

    Every day law abiding citizens have already lost faith in them and their insistence on persecuting people for thought crime just loses them even more support and cooperation from the public, this increases the risk of a real terror threat succeeding not some bloke writing random bollocks on twitter.

  • zorro

    Righttttt!! ….got you Alex…I knew that you’d give yourself away. There it is written proof…a confession…Don’t give us no bollocks about ‘context’ or anything like that. Clear proof of a dastardly attempt to strike fear into the hearts of all Doncaster residents and all people desperate enough to travel through that airport.
    However, before I send freedom warden par excellence Old Holborn to effect a well deserved citizen’s arrest, I need to know what type of bomb you are intending on using because I need to fill out a risk assessment before we send anyone…..I knew that you’d crack and spill the beans…..

  • Spartacus

    I am Spartacus, and I am going to blow up Robin Hood Airport.

  • Jess The Dog

    If you have an inflatable model of the airport, and you ‘tweet’ your intention to blow it up, is this an offence?
    If you have taken a photograph of the airport*, and you broadcast your intention to ‘blow it up’ to poster size, is this an offence?
    This charge is under the Communications Act and I am very surprised given all the fuss about terrorism….I can’t see how it will stick.
    *taking a photo probably is!

  • http://profile.typepad.com/alexdeane Alex Deane

    Funny, isn’t it… judging by the behaviour of the constabulary in this case, you’d think that every time someone rhetorically said “I’ll kill you” in the course of banter or argument etcetera, they’d get charged with threats to kill:
    http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manual/threats_to_kill/

  • http://www.nikeairjordan.cc/ Retro Jordans

    All of us have the ability to adapt our own story.

  • http://www.etech.com/electronics-mp3-players--c1202_1294 MP3 Players

    a demolition licence from the local authority, consent from the landowner and BAA, and then blow up Robin Hood Airport following the statutory notifications in line with HSE and other requirements.

  • http://www.gadgettown.com/MP3-Players/ MP3 Players

    i knew that you’d give yourself away. There it is written proof…a confession…Don’t give us no bollocks about ‘context’ or anything like that.

  • Richard Neva

    Think about this. Those people who have all the weapons of mass destruction, USA, England, Australian Canada, Germany, Poland, Egypt use those weapons to murder children, women and old men. Never is a charge of terrorism leveled at our rulers. You could say, they get away with murder and that is bullshit and all these damn patriots who posted on this site are assholes!

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    Twitter is very popular, though I for some reason he does not appeal to …