That Patriot Act Tyranny? Never Mind.

Wired commits journalism, actually looks into that Fed kidnapping story making the wingnut rounds, and finds — nothing:

The claim that the boy is a victim of USA PATRIOT, though, appears to have been cut from whole cloth. While there’s plenty to criticize in that post-9/11 law, it doesn’t contain any provision that abrogates a defendant’s right to a trial. It’s also not responsible for making it illegal to phone in a bomb threat. That’s been a federal crime since 1939.

The boy’s mother, Annette Lundeby, has even acknowledged in interviews that her son has been formally charged, has a court-appointed attorney, and has already made appearances in front of a judge.

So, where did the claim of Patriot Act abuse originate? Mom made it up.

Bloggers, TV, Go Nuts Over Misleading ‘Patriot Act’ Arrest Claim [Wired]

Oh, Now It’s Tyranny [Stinque]

5 Comments

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not sure I want to live in a world in which a fellah can no longer call in a bomb threat to get out of his 10:00 am Chemistry exam.

It kinda makes a lot of people look pretty stupid.

The Mom Who Cried Patriot Act.

@Serolf Divad: But I thought the kid was home-skooled

@SanFranLefty: “The call is coming from inside the house!”

@Serolf Divad: What I love about kids today … when they do stupid shit like that, they brag about it on Facebook. Makes the cops and prosecutors jobs so much easier.

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