This mother made the whole thing up, and I feel it should be rightly pointed out.

Please read this post from Wired

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/bloggers-tv-go-nuts-over-misleading-patriot-act-claim/

Well, the kid is almost certainly guilty. Look at the woman who raided him: "I don't even believe in guns..." - obviously a commie.

Seriously, whether he's guilty or not, how can anyone think it is a good thing that due process is being denied here. Why does anyone think that the denial of due process is "making us safer"?

Some sources are saying that he was in fact making bomb threats, e.g.,

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/teenage-bomb-threat-suspect-was-an-internet-prank-phone-call-star/

I guess time and IP records will tell.

This is obviously terrible, and I have been deeply disturbed and afraid of the loss of rights and due process that the patriot act allows since I became aware of it.

Having said that, I am struck that whenever I see something like this, the parents or other relatives and loved ones almost always seem to say something like "I never knew this could happen" or "I never thought this could/would happen". Does it strike any of you that these people actually bear some (a very small part) of the blame when these things happen?

Hear me out. I DO have sympathy. I never want this to happen. I just want to note that in a democracy it is everyone's responsibility to maintain our rights and representation by participating and keeping ourselves informed.

I guess what I am saying is this: When will we see an interview like this where the relative/loved one says something like "I knew this could happen ever since they passed this terrible law, and I fought against it for that reason. This law should have never been passed and must be repealed." Until people are aware and involved in that way, these terrible things will continue to happen.

Truly sorry if this comes across as cynical or if you are offended by my message.

Wow, I really hope this story gets some national attention because this is outrageous. Guilty or not, the kid is 16 and was ripped out of his home and it doesn't seem he's had any contact with his family since then...how is this in any way justifiable?

I hope Obama hears of this and gets some balls to do something about fixing the Patriot Act, or better yet scrapping it all together.

The Mom is just lying :( www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/teenage-bomb-threat-suspect-was-an-internet-prank-phone-call-star/

/b/ if you ask me.

I read about this on Wired. Seems there is much more to the story.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/bloggers-tv-go-nuts-over-misleading-patriot-act-claim/

Then there's this one.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/teenage-bomb-threat-suspect-was-an-internet-prank-phone-call-star/

The Patriot Act is a nasty piece of work, but it's not responsible for the kid's arrest.

His mom has also since admitted that her son has already been formally charged, been appointed counsel and has made appearances before a judge, so it's not like he's been lost in some Gitmo-style black hole.

Details on Wired's Threat Level blog:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/bloggers-tv-go-nuts-over-misleading-patriot-act-claim/

After reading the links posted by Steve, it's clear that this report doesn't represent the nightmare scenario we all imagine the Patriot Act could produce, but instead represents a mother trying to build sympathy for her irresponsible son. As the Wired reports demonstrate, the son has been charged and the details of his case are closed because he's a minor. As extreme as the raid sounds, it's not exactly the clandestine, unaccountable abuse of force this (bad-fact-checking) local t.v. news report makes it out to be. As such, you really ought to take down this video and not assist this woman in her disingenuous PR scheme.

Interesting - the posts for this thread are all in time order, but maybe they didn't post in order. So thank you to those who sent out Wired links (the same 2 appear numerous times).

True, I still don't like the patriot act. I think I like this mother less though, for her crying wolf on the patriot act. What a mess. When the kid turns 18 and the charges are cleared, he might want to change his name as well (to something other than Tyrone).