BREAKING NEWS: A Florida Man Has Been Arrested By The FBI For Making Death Threats Against Rep. Boebert On Twitter

Last year, federal officials accused a 38-year-old Florida man of making threats on social media against Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert. Matthew Lee Comiskey’s case was unsealed on Friday, a week after a grand jury in the Southern District of Florida handed down a five-count indictment.

Now that Comiskey has been arrested, the government has requested that the case materials be opened. He was not given a specific date of his arrest. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, talks at a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on February 27, 2021, in Orlando, Florida, United States.

Five charges of Interstate Threats have been filed against Comiskey. Comiskey may face between two and twenty years in jail for each crime, according to an online source of punishments for US law codes. In the indictment, Comiskey is charged with sending five messages on Twitter:

• Aug. 31, 2021: “lf I ever saw Lauren I’d be glad to take her out and go to prison. Would be job well done.”
• Sept. 8, 2021: “Don’t worry Lauren, someone is coming soon to show your face the 2nd amendment in practice with a copper jacket. Enjoy.”
• Sept. 15, 2021: “Someone needs to put Lauren down like a sick dog. She is a true waste of life! Someone exercise their 2nd amendment right to her face! Since the @CIA is a failure and @FBI is incompetent at charging her for being a terrorist it’s time to do it ourselves! Pew pew Laurren.”
• Sept. 17, 2021: “I got my 2nd amendment tool all ready to destroy Laurren’s face! Hopefully in front of her kids.”
• Sept. 17, 2021: “Don’t come to Florida us libs have big guns here and we stand out (sic) ground. Take you down like Trayvon.”

According to statistics, police complaints regarding suspected crimes connected to the use of Facebook and Twitter have climbed by 780 percent in four years, with roughly 650 persons prosecuted last year.

According to information supplied under the Freedom of Information Act by 29 police forces in 2008, the phenomena of social networking crime was very tiny, with 556 reports to police. There were 4,908 reports this year in which the two sites played a role.

This tweeting has occurred not only within American borders but also in a number of other democratic countries across the Atlantic, including one of our allies, the United Kingdom. Threatening tweets with the potential to inflict physical harm, such as death threats, have also increased in the United Kingdom.

The findings, according to Chief Constable Andy Trotter of the Association of Chief Police Officers, reveal a new issue. It was critical, he argued, that law enforcement prioritized social networking offenses that caused real harm rather than aiming to stifle freedom of expression.

“It’s a new world for everyone, and we could wind up in a position where each police force needs its own Twitter team.” That, in my opinion, would not be a wise use of resources in these difficult economic times. We must understand that individuals have the right to communicate, even if it is in an annoying or disagreeable manner, and that the police have no inclination to intervene in that judgment.

“However, there are numerous social media offenses that inflict real injury, such as harassment or serious threats of violence. Forces must focus on the upper end of the criminal spectrum.”

Police departments were requested to record the number of crimes in which Facebook or Twitter played a role. This covered suspected offenses performed on the sites, such as sending abusive messages, as well as offenses allegedly prompted by posts, such as violent attacks.

According to the forces that reacted, a total of 653 persons faced criminal charges as a result of the claims this year. In 2008, 46 persons were charged with crimes related to the sites across the whole force. Some police departments gave a thorough breakdown of crime records, revealing a wide range of claimed offenses, including harassing and threatening texts.

This year, Tayside police received 66 reports about the sites, 44 of which contained obscene or menacing statements. Harassment was reported in 21 of the 76 relevant crime reports in Merseyside this year. Six murder threats were reported to Lancashire police.

Numerous alleged sexual offenses, including grooming, as well as stalking, racially aggravated behavior, and fraud, were also reported. According to Trotter, crimes may be classified into two categories: those perpetrated before the advent of social media, but in a different method, and those committed as a result of the online platform.