It was simple, plain ignorance of the ramifications of verbal content/choice.

Yes, he did do it...he said so to to the security/authorities.  He was picked out of the crowd by facial recognition agreeing that it was his photo on his twitter acc.

He was simply enthusiastic about going to enjoy the concert...quoting a line from a Pink song and not realising the wording he used implied 'criminal intent' in a crowded [vulnerable] venue.

Primarily the issue will be that he was actually present - in front of the stage, and not 'merely' texting or writing something on 'the net'.

Point is...it wasn't even 'a prank',  it was plain IGNORANCE.

I don't expect the charge of 'Terrorism' to be invalid in the circumstances....only the punishment is likely to be less.  Whether or not that results in a criminal record is what is going to affect him the most.  EG. he'd be prohibited from ever visiting the US, etc. in his lifetime.

It's a bit like diving into a water hole without first checking its depth.....seemed like a good idea at the time....only the resulting quadriplegia sucks a bit.

ok, I obviously dont know all the details of this story, but I do have to point out that if he got in trouble for quoting a singer from the concert he was in.... did they arrest Pink as well? how is it that the singer is allowed to say things he can't?

Now that I know he quoted a song lyric, I'm even more against this. It sounds like ignorance on the part of the security people.

However, your more recent post suggests this was outside the US. If that's the case, then I'll drop my arguments because I don't know the laws of other countries or have a sense of how to morally apply them.

Sith....the OP mentions 'Melbourne' and 'Rod Laver Arena' ...

The Laws will be essentially the same... however again, the reference to Pink's song was to do with 'bomb' [I don't know which song it was] but it's about context.... not about whether the performer can sing lyrics or not.

Incidentally...if Pink got up and said 'there's a bomb in the arena' she'd get her bum slapped equally as fast....

Little slapper's wishful thinkin' there

yeah, I dont know where those places are.

I don't really care about this thing you call 'music' either...

They should´ve investigated a bit further on it, people like that must have deeper related problems ( if you have to tweet about something like this "to make a joke"- that isn’t anything in the sense of sane )

either his cojones must have been producing too much testosterone so that his brain switched to Flintstone mode that night while he wrote it or he´d suffer from deep mental issues that need to be treated ASAP.

But I guess he did get a beaten by security.

Kudos to the person that found that tweet.

Why I think so ? If a normal Human reaches the age of 12-16 it can predict good from right 
example throwing an object against another object that travels into your direction will cause a higher impact/force ( bigger hole greater damage than if the object your throwing at is standing still or moving away) 

If the person was not having 1,2 ‰  or higher in his bloodstream the brain should be able to calculate this subliminally
Just like you know that sticking your hand into a loaded rat trap will hurt.

If anyone did a prank on him using his "smartphone whatsoever" - he should really consider to search for new real friends.
One more thing Sith didn’t consider someone without a weapon as potential terrorist - look into the news / a weapon can be everything and knowledge is one of "our" greatest weapons. 

A 'basic' education comes in handy....once you master the knack of breathing without the need for conscious effort.

Have you heard of tennis?

Did you know there are only 4 Open tennis championships referred to as the 'grand slam'?

Can you name which countries host them?

I'll eddykate....US Open, British Open, French Open, and Australian Open.

And where is the Australian Open held? - Melbourne..... in that Arena.

While we're at it....as you might not know what tennis is....Formula One? .... there's 18 races ....yep, one is in Melbourne.

Can't count to 4 wheels? No problemo.... how about MotoGP? - only 2 wheels ... again Melbourne [Phillip Island].

Still no good?   How about World Superbikes? [no, not the parochial US superbikes] - Melbourne.

Dunno what a wheel is?....OK, how about nags?  Thing called 'The Melbourne Cup' ..... strangely in Melbourne.....as 'big' as Ascot ......oh, wait....you dunno where Ascot is.

Perhaps you're in California....maybe somewhere where they have 'bushfires'.... guess where the strange-accented fire fighters come from [quite regularly, actually] - yep.... Melbourne.

How about 'ground zero' .... guess where the company comes from that did the cleanup....

I could go on....

Re music, however....I've heard some great artists there....you won't have heard of any of them I imagine....

Leonard Cohen.... Roger Waters.... Black Sabbath ... Pink Floyd ... Pink ... Evanescence ....

Rolo ...you clearly have missed the references.... but no, it wasn't a 'joke'...it was a badly worded moment of enthusiasm/anticipation.

There's no 'deeper related problems' other than a total lack of understanding of common sense...as to HOW A STATEMENT CAN BE INTERPRETED.

If he thought about it he would probably have gone "oops....that was bad choice of words"...but he's a 16 year old idiot without a grip on practical reality .... product of our times.

 ohm when I read the OT there is no links...
Anyway if it was only because he was exited and wanted to tweet that he can’t wait for the party to start - I do feel a bit sorry for him but only a bit since he/she didn’t think far enough ahead.

Actually I just searched about it.
@Pink I'm ready with my Bomb. Time to blowup #RodLaverArena B*tch."
[ A tweet is very short and he probably squeezed everything in it he/she could ]
sadly
that was a poor life choice especially if it should´ve meant “drop the effects, the music, everything — just drop it all.”

If he/she was too excited about pink (even if pink represents the “role model”)*cough -and he or she just send that message like ohh shit that was a poor choice of words – why not correct yourself in an following tweet? Means there was no thought about it at all.
But if he/she gets overwhelmed of anxiety just because a famous person is close to him/her it would be probably better to stay away from it in future or at least learn about the mistake of tweeting stuff like he/she did.

Jafo

reply 38

but he's a 16 year old idiot without a grip on practical reality ...

Bingo [e digicons]'[/e]

Jafo, I don't care about any of those other things you mentioned either; just like I'm sure you don't care about physics and calculus.

I'm not saying my stuff is better or that I've never heard of them... to each his own.

I'm sure I could've googled the city to figure out where it is, and I should have if I had thought it relevant. If there was only one Melbourne in the world, I probably would have.

I stand by my earlier viewpoint on what should have happened. You are welcome to disagree with me,  I'm sure plenty of people will. We used to have this thing called freedom of speech. No, I'm not saying you can say whatever you want, consequences be damned; just like I didn't say security should have bought him some iced tea and left him alone. What matters is intention.

Hell, there's a comedian who has a terrorist puppet character. What if someone thought one of his jokes was funny and tweeted it? If security picks up on it, yeah get him away from the stage and figure out if it's a real threat. No question. Charge him if it caused additional problems (like the whole crowd flipping out, or something), but charges that are proportional to the crime... terrorism is in a whole other league compared to what was done here. For example, say the crowd found out and panicked and a person got trampled and died. I would charge the guy with manslaughter at worst (would probably be a dozen charges altogether). 

Correct. Context and appearance count. Context: World where 9/11, London, Boston, Aurora and school bombings/shootings happen. These cause "An abundance of caution". They also cause fools to get their arses handed to them. "Think before you speak or act". Good advice. He didn't: "He chose ...poorly."

What he did was stupid in the extreme, and now he's going to pay the price...probably won't discourage other idiots, though. People are going to get hurt by idiots like these. Best to weed them out before they cause worse damage.

The charges in the case of deaths would have been felony murder (or the Australian equivalent).

Our individual thoughts about the matter count little...the Australian Criminal Prosecutors have their opinion, and it counts a good deal more. 

"...stupid in the extreme..."

A 16 year old kid is excited about a concert and makes a reference to a song by the artist (that happens to include the word bomb, and a pretty standard pop culture reference to "blowing up" aka slaying it aka rocking it aka having a great time aka having a great show aka etc. etc. etc.).

Are we so sadly politically correct that this should be an issue at all? It's a kid excited about a concert. I am blown away by the sensitivity here. This wasn't "stupid in the extreme"...this was a teenager excited about a concert who made a reference on twitter to the artist and her material. I think that's pretty reasonable.

Anyone who was headed to the arena to see the concert likely had an idea of what he meant, i.e. no realistic potential for a "panic" or a "scare" or people being trampled to death in a fearful rush to the exit, especially if you read what he tweeted. If such had happened, fine - charge away. Otherwise, part of me just says "get over it".

No disrespect intended - not a personal callout. Simply my thoughts.

 

So....if the terrorists in 9/11 had been intercepted before the event, preventing it nappening we should all just 'get over it'?

The 'statement' on twitter was, to all intents and purposes a 'notice of intent', just as stockpiling fertilizer [when you're not a farmer] equally raises concerns.

There WAS NO alternative action than that which was taken.....simply because had it actually been what it appeared ... an inquest into the event would be very critical of security's inaction.

Your scenarios are not at all equal. The terrorists on 9/11 set out to do harm. If only we would have intercepted them.

Tweeting about a bomb at a school (even in a potentially joking manner) would fit the scenario you describe, whether intending to do harm, or a kid being dumb and not thinking through the ramifications. That is where you intercept a kid and possibly press charges.

Tweeting "@Pink I'm ready with my Bomb. Time to blowup #RodLaverArena B!*@h [my edit]” does not fit this basic premise. The artist (Pink) sings a song (Timebomb) that includes lyrics about bombs blowing up. It was a public message directed at her referencing her music. Any person paying money to attend her concert is likely at least familiar with the song, and would understand the reference. I don't think it is reasonable to suggest in any way that this could result in panic, danger, harm, etc. The statement "time to blowup X" or any iteration thereof is common in today's vernacular.

Given the circumstances above, I completely disagree that this statement could at all be interpreted as a "notice of intent", ESPECIALLY in the same line as someone stockpiling fertilizer. I would suggest there is a huge leap between the two.

There IS an alternative action going forward - save criminal charges for criminal acts. This is an overblown misunderstanding caused by overly sensitive persons who were unable to critically assess his statement about the arena in context of the planned event. Bomb - song reference. Blow [it] up - common phrasing: have an awesome time. Venue - concert location where Bombs will be on topic and Blowing up as a sentiment makes fine sense.

 

From Twitter:

"grandpas 90th birthday party rn everybody cruise!!! blow it up!!!" - mass murder?

"You want to burn this bridge? I'll blow it up." - planned terrorist strike on key infrastructure?

"Just learned termites have weaseled their way into my home, so now I'm trying to decide if I wanna set it on fire or blow it up w/dynamite." - potential insurance fraud?

"I'm the most annoying texter. Like if you don't answer me I'll blow it up. Idgaf"\ - murder?

"2223 delaney ave 32806 Tomorrow's address blow it up!!!" - detailed murder plans?

"Building a bridge just to tie you to it and blow it up." - terrorism with named target?

"I don't wanna hear anyone annoyed tonight with fireworks pictures or tweets this is America baby blow it up" - terrorism?

"Dad is talking about how easy it would be to bringabomb onto a ferry #alwaystheoptimist" - terrorism?

"College Tip: You can get out of class early if you bringa smoke bomb or any bomb." - terrorism?

 

I do understand there is a difference - the kid's tweet called out a specific place during an event, and included both statements "bomb" and "blow it up". Simply looking to illustrate that these are not irregular or threatening statements, they are part of common vernacular, and assigning "notice of intent" seems somewhat unreasonable.

It isn't law enforcements job to second-guess intent. Let the courts handle that.