FBI Uses Facebook to Catch Baltimore Terrorist

Gathering evidence on Facebook has become a standard legal practice, so a social sting operation was inevitable. This method led the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to apprehend a would-be terrorist in Baltimore.

An FBI informant initially contacted 21-year-old Antonio Martinez after he publicly posted about his desire for jihad on Facebook earlier this fall, according to AFP. The U.S. Justice Department released a prepared statement that AFP cited:

“An affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint alleges that on September 29, 2010, Martinez publicly posted on his Facebook account a statement calling for violence to stop the oppression of Muslims, and that on October 1, 2010, he publicly posted a message stating that he hates any person who opposes Allah and his prophet.”

The FBI set Martinez up with a fake car bomb, then apprehended him when he attempted to detonate it remotely. The faux explosive was rigged in a vehicle parked outside a U.S. military recruitment office in a suburban Maryland shopping mall.

Martinez was charged with attempting to murder federal officers and employees, as well as the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction on government property. He faces possible life imprisonment for these charges and is being held in custody until a court hearing scheduled for Monday.

The timing of this case is noteworthy—officials managed to apprehend the suspect within six weeks of his jihad-seeking post on Facebook. This swift action could set a precedent for future sting operations on social networks.

Readers, what do you think about the rise of sting operations on Facebook? What impact might this have on the community?

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