Feds take case of 'dark' humor preschool threat on Facebook - San Jose Mercury News
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A 19-year-old Pennsylvania man faces federal charges over a Facebook post threatening to kill preschool children even after telling investigators he merely has a dark sense of humor and didn't plan to carry out the threat. Cale Haer was originally charged Monday by police in his hometown of Johnstown, some 60 miles east of Pittsburgh, with making terroristic threats and disorderly conduct. But the FBI and federal prosecutors took over the case and Haer was jailed Wednesday on a charge of making interstate threats, punishable by up to five years in prison. Investigators say Haer was chatting on Facebook with another person on Aug. "I disagree to a point so extreme I'm gonna go blow up a preschool to show my disapproval," Haer wrote, according to the FBI complaint. When the other person asked Haer if he was serious, the FBI said he responded: "I'm 100% serious about blowing up a preschool. A federal magistrate in Johnstown ordered Haer jailed indefinitely as he awaits prosecution. But Bruce Antkowiak, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at St. Vincent College, said Haer's prosecution calls into question a U. S. Supreme Court decision in June. Source: www.mercurynews.com
