Keith Henson Arrested for Sounding Terroristy

And you though ThePete.Com's Big Brother Week was over! Sadly, big brother isn't going anywhere... This story is a riot--unless you happen to be Keith Henson. Turns out he made some smart-ass remarks about a Tom Cruise Missile during an anti-Scientology rant on a newsgroup (of all places) and somehow his comments were translated into terrorist threats. Seriously. Check out this cutting from [http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/02/04/scientology-fugitive-arrested/|a February 4, 2007 post] on the 10ZenMonkeys.Com blog:

On Friday, Arizona police arrested a 64-year-old man — a fugitive since 2001 in a bizarre war that mixes free speech, copyright law, and the Church of Scientology. Keith Henson's journey began seven years ago while innocuously watching another critic mock the group on an internet newsgroup. In a gonzo discussion about procuring a "Tom Cruise missile," they'd joked about working with "Secret Agent 99, wearing a stunning black leather biker outfit." Other posters joined in the internet discussion, asking whether Tom Cruise missiles are affected by wind."No way," Keith joked. "Modern weapons are accurate to a matter of a few tens of yards." The police were informed of his "threatening" posts, and Henson was arrested.

It turns out that Scientologists had been reading the discussion and reported Henson's comments as threatening. However, did the "authorities" actually bother with any research? Clearly not. They simply arrested the guy. There's plenty more to the story, including his conviction (on hate crime charges, not terrorism) and his self-exile from America. Check out that 10ZenMonkeys.Com [http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/02/04/scientology-fugitive-arrested/|post] for more. I suppose America is still a mostly free country...

---

Orignal From: Keith Henson Arrested for Sounding Terroristy