'Prank' Leads To Felony Charge Against Student, 13: 13 Year Old Charged with 'Terroristic Threatening'

Teen Has Been Removed From School
NBC 10
Mar. 30, 2006

FLORENCE, Ky. -- He said it was a prank gone wrong, but police are taking a 13-year-old Kentucky student's alleged threats against the president very seriously, reported WLWT-TV in Cincinnati.

Authorities have charged the teen with terroristic threatening, a felony.

The Ockerman Middle School student is accused of making threats against the city of Florence and the president of the United States in e-mails he allegedly sent to city officials, police said.

Principal David Claggett told the television station that the teen claimed the e-mails were just a joke.

"He said, 'Well, I was just messing around, just kidding around. I wasn't really serious about it,'" Claggett said.

The FBI and Secret Service agents interviewed the teen at his home and took a computer for further analysis.

Although police said it appears the teen also made a very veiled threat toward a school in general, "the threat in no way implied any action directed toward the students or faculty at Ockerman Middle School," according to a news release.

Claggett sent home a letter to parents explaining the situation.

The teen has been removed from the school and could be sentenced to five years in prison, although authorities said his age will be a factor.