5 years for threats on Instagram: California cybercriminal sent to prison

On Monday, March 2, a California resident received a prison sentence for sending threatening messages to the families and friends of mass shooting victims at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. USA Today.

Photo: video frame YouTube / Global News

22-year-old Brandon Michael Fleury from Santa Ana, California, was sentenced to 66 months in prison in federal prison for cyberbullying on social networks. A criminal lawsuit filed with the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida states that Fleury, an autistic spectrum young man, used Instagram to harass or “troll” those he considered activists on the Internet. He was arrested and charged in January last year.

Fleury admitted that he created 13 Instagram profiles to circumvent the company's policies: Instagram removes content containing credible threats.

Fleury selected several people related to the victims of the shootout on February 14, 2018, which killed 17 students. Most of them were noted in messages published from December 22, 2018 to January 11, 2019 under accounts such as @ nikolas.killed.your.sister and @ angie.and.lola.

On the subject: A schoolgirl who survived the shooting at Parkland School committed suicide

Jessie Guttenberg, whose sister Jamie died in the shooting, received direct ridicule from Fleury, including: “I took Jamie away from you. You'll never see her again, hahaha" and "With the power of my AR-15, I wiped them out."

Jamie's father Fred Guttenberg recently hit the headlines after a speech by US President Donald Trump on February 4. Guttenberg became a recognized weapon control advocate after the death of his daughter.

On Dec. 25, 2018, Fleury sent Guttenberg and another person close to the victims, using the profile @teddykillspeople, kidnapping threats along the lines of, “I am your kidnapper, I will kidnap you, you fool,” according to the criminal complaint.

After receiving IP addresses and account information on Instagram, law enforcement agencies tracked Fleury to the house in Santa Ana, California, where he lives with his father and brother.

According to the prosecutor in the Southern District of Florida, the tablets taken from the house contained photographs of Fleury’s victims, screenshots of messages sent to them via Instagram, and thousands of images of the infamous 70s serial killer Ted Bundy.

On the subject: 'My goal is at least 20 people': a shooter from Florida recorded a video with a murder plan

Fleury quoted Bundy on some of his Instagram posts.

“Nicholas killed your friends and teachers, but guess what? I killed Janice Ott and Denise Naslund,” he posted on Christmas Day 2018. Ott and Naslund were victims of Bundy.

US District Judge Rudolfo Ruiz II sentenced Fleury to 66 months imprisonment for cyber-harassment and threat of kidnapping.

Fleury's attorney, Sabrina Puglisi, hoped that Judge Ruiz would take Fleury's mental state into account during the sentencing, although mental health experts testified that the defendant distinguishes the right from the wrong.

“I think this is an excessive sentence given Brandon's past and other similar cases, but I think the judge felt it was necessary to get a message out to other people on the Internet who are committing these types of acts,” Puglisi said.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• 14 February 2018 year at high school in Parkland, Florida, shooting occurred as a result of which 17 people died and several were injured. The crime was one of the worst mass school shootings in US history. 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, a former Parkland school student, opened fire at the school, killing 17 people. He started shooting at people on the street, killing three people. Then he entered the school building, where he shot and killed 12 more people. Two more died from their wounds in hospital. How the terrible shooting took place - read about eyewitness accounts.
• Sports school director, favorite coach and student: the first victims of the school shooting in Florida - who they were, Read in our material.
• Nicholas Cruz, who was adopted at birth by an elderly couple, recently suffered from depression. His father died when the boy was still young, and his mother was buried only 3 months ago. What Nicholas was, and why the whole street knew about him, said neighbors, friends and family members.
• Nicholas Cruz was too naive for his age and looked depressed when James and Kimberly Sned invited him to live in their home in Parkland, Florida. But it seemed to them that he was cute and was becoming more and more happy while living with them. Readthat people who sheltered him told about the 19-year-old arrow.

Read also on ForumDaily:

A mother from Florida was arrested for threatening to shoot at a school where her children study

Americans buy bulletproof rucksacks for schoolchildren: can they protect during shooting

Harvard canceled the enrollment of a guy who survived school shooting in Florida: what is the reason

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