Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Politics

Secret Service Interrogates 13-Year-old for Warning President Obama About Suicide Bombers

Matt Welch | 5.19.2011 10:08 AM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Has Facebook become make-work for the Secret Service? Outrages like this point to "yes":

When Timi Robertson found out her middle-schooler son was being questioned by the Secret Service and the police at his Tacoma, Wa. school, she says she "just about lost it," — especially after they told her it was over a Facebook post the boy had written warning President Barack Obama of suicide attacks in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death.

"My 13-year-old son, who's a minor, who's supposed to be safe and secure in his classroom at school, is being interrogated without my knowledge or consent by the Secret Service," Robertson told Q13 Fox News reporter Dana Rebik. She only got wind of the interrogation because a school security guard tipped her off and arrived a half-hour after the agent had already begun questioning her son. Tacoma police were also present. […]

Her son […] told the reporter he was "very scared" and that he's more careful about what he writes on the site.

Mission accomplished!

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Reason Morning Links: Press Pool Shenanigans, Rapture Radio, and the Spanish Spring

Matt Welch is an editor at large at Reason.

PoliticsZero ToleranceBarack ObamaInternetWar on DrugsScience & TechnologyCivil LibertiesPolicy
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (89)

Latest

American Manufacturing Needs Relief From Trump's Tariffs

Eric Boehm | 9.4.2025 7:30 AM

2 Trump Cases To Watch as the Supreme Court Returns From Summer Break

Damon Root | 9.4.2025 7:00 AM

She Wrote a Bad Check 17 Years Ago and Still Can't Own Guns. This Trump Order Could Help People Like Her.

Jacob Sullum | From the October 2025 issue

Brickbat: Post Fraud

Charles Oliver | 9.4.2025 4:00 AM

Trump Orders Strike on Suspected Venezuelan Gang Boat in Caribbean

Diego Berrizbeitia | 9.3.2025 6:00 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300