Politics & Government
Bethlehem-Area Man Gets Jail for Facebook Threats
Anthony Elonis of Lower Saucon is sentenced to almost four years in prison for threatening his wife, an unidentified kindergarten class, an FBI agent and others on Facebook.
Anthony D. Elonis, 29, of Lower Saucon Township was sentenced Wednesday to 44 months in prison for posting threats on his Facebook page.
Elonis made threats against his wife, the FBI, state police, the Berks County Sheriff's Department and an unspecified kindergarten class in the Bethlehem area, according to the FBI's Philadelphia Division.
One of his posts said this:
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"That's it, I've had about enough I'm check out and making a name for myself Enough elementary schools in a ten mile radius to initiate the most heinous school shooting ever imagined And hell hath no fury like a crazy man in a Kindergarten class the only question is...which one?"
According to a Morning Call story, Elonis told the federal judge that he never meant to hurt anybody. A jury found last year that some of his posts were serious threats.
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After Elonis serves his sentence, he must serve three years of supervised release and can have no contact with his victims, according to the order by U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Stengel. He is also ordered to get mental health treatment. His computer will be monitored as a condition of his release, the FBI said.
Elonis gets credit for time served since his arrest in December 2010, which means he could be out in two years, according to The Call.
The FBI investigated the case and it was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri A. Stephan.
