Man Makes Online Threats Via Raps, Faces 20 Years in Jail
Upon losing his job and his girl, downtrodden Pennsylvania resident Anthony D. Elonis turned to the written word as a means of expressing his feelings. He was a bit like Eminem's character in '8 Mile,' only he chose the wrong forum for venting his rage.
Rather than doing something constructive and, say, writing hip-hop songs, Elonis took to Facebook to make threats against numerous parties, including his estranged wife, the Pennsylvania State Police and a local kindergarten class, the website Above the Law reports.
Elonis apparently likened his online rants to rap lyrics, but the authorities weren't buying it. Last week, the former theme-park employee was convicted by a federal jury and now faces up to 20 years in prison.
In one Facebook post, Elonis detailed plans to open fire on a kindergarten class, writing, "I'm checking out and making a name for myself. Enough elementary schools in 10-mile radius to initiate the most heinous school shooting ever imagined. And hell hath no fury like a crazy man in a kindergarten class."
Following a visit from the FBI, he fired off a rhyming post about the female agent who showed up at his door.
"Took all the strength I had not to turn the bitch ghost," he wrote. "Pull my knife, flick my wrist, and slit her throat. Leave her bleedin' from her jugular in the arms of her partner."
If the graphic imagery is reminiscent of Eminem's ''97 Bonnie & Clyde' and the numerous other songs in which the Detroit rapper fantasizes about killing his ex-wife, Kim, there's a fundamental difference between Em's rhymes and Elonis' screeds. One is entertainment, while the other is just plain frightening.
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