A man from Oregon, U.S. who made threats to kill former President Barack Obama and FBI agents over social media has been given a 63 month federal prison sentence.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. McShane sentenced 62-year-old John Roos to over five years after he pleaded guilty to the threats and to possessing an unregistered explosive device, according to local media.
Upon his release, Roos will serve three years’ post-prison supervision.
“Violent social media posts are every bit as serious as those made in other venues,” a statement from U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams said.
“We will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute similar crimes.”
In court, Roos admitted to a Twitter post in which he threatened to kill Obama and the first family whilst under the account @indnjohnpatriot. Twitter has since suspended the account.
Taking his comments further, Roos then threated to “snipe” FBI agents with hunting rifles on Facebook.
Upon being questioned about the comments made against the FBI, the defendant said that they were inspired by the fatal shooting of LaVoy Finicum during the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January.
Roos was arrested in April 2016, outside the Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Centre and Clinics in White City, where they found a loaded semi-automatic pistol in his vehicle. During a search of his Medford apartment, officers found several pipe bombs.
He has been in jail since his April arrest.
The posts were a means to “blow off steam”, according to Roos, with “no intention” of acting on the threats – the court documents said.
