Facebook Rant Against Judge Nets Prison
CLEVELAND, Ohio — A North Olmsted man’s drunken-driving conviction netted him probation, but his subsequent Facebook rant against judges and police put him behind bars.
William Bement, 27, was sentenced to 17 months in prison today for Facebook postings that threatened the lives of police and judges.
One posting suggested people “stop shooting up schools and start shooting cops in courthouses.” Another said, “Kill your local judges!!!!!!!.”
Bement made the postings on Feb. 5, shortly after Rocky River Municipal Court Judge Donna Congeni Fitzsimmons gave him probation.
Today, he appeared before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold. Bement told Saffold that he was just venting and never intended for anybody to feel threatened.
“I was doing it for a shock factor,” he said.
Assistant County Prosecutor Jim Hofelich said someone else could have read Bement’s posting and acted on it.
Besides sentencing Bement to prison, Saffold also ordered him to receive anger- management and mental-health counseling.
Tags: cuyahoga courts, facebook