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United States Department of Justice Christopher J. Christie, U.S. Attorney More Information? Call the Assistant U.S. Attorney or other contact listed below to see if more information is available. News on the Internet: News Releases and related documents are posted at our website, along with links to our archived releases for other years. Go to: www.usdoj.gov/usao/nj/press/
NEWARK, N.J. – A 22-year-old Wisconsin man pleaded guilty today to conveying a terrorism hoax for his repeated posting of an Internet message claiming that terrorists would detonate radioactive “dirty bombs” at football stadiums in seven states, including New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced. Jake J. Brahm, of Wauwatosa, Wis., appeared this morning before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares in Newark, who accepted Brahm’s plea to a one-count Indictment charging him with willfully conveying false information indicating that the seven stadiums would be attacked by terrorists with weapons of mass destruction and radiological dispersal devices. Judge Linares scheduled sentencing for June 5. Brahm remains free on a $100,000 personal recognizance bond. Brahm admitted composing and posting a message approximately 40 times throughout September and October 2006, stating that on Oct. 22, 2006, seven “dirty” explosive devices would be detonated during football games at stadiums in Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland, Cleveland and New York City. Brahm admitted that the message’s reference to New York City was intended to indicate Giants Stadium, in East Rutherford, N.J., where the New York Jets had been scheduled to play the Detroit Lions on the date of the purported attack. The message Brahm posted went on to say that the bombs would be delivered by trucks and that “the death toll will approach 100,000 from the initial blasts and countless other fatalities will later occur as result from radioactive fallout.” Brahm further wrote in the posting that the stadium explosions would be lauded by Osama bin Laden as “America’s Hiroshima” and that global conflicts would erupt in their wake. Until they were determined to be a hoax, Brahm’s messages caused a significant mobilization of law enforcement, public safety and security resources. “This was the Internet version of yelling fire in a crowded theater, but to a much wider audience,” said Christie. “I don’t think anyone needs to be reminded in this day and age how serious and dangerous such conduct is.” Brahm turned himself into the U.S. Marshal’s Service in Milwaukee on Oct. 20, 2006, after a federal criminal Complaint and arrest warrant had been issued. He was indicted on Feb. 28, 2007. Brahm faces a maximum prison term of five years and a fine of $250,000. The defendant has agreed to be sentenced under the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant’s criminal history, if any, and other factors. Although Judge Linares must calculate a recommended sentencing range according to the advisory Guidelines, the judge has the authority to impose a more or less severe sentence up to the statutory maximum of five years of imprisonment. Christie credited Special Agents of the FBI in Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Agent in Charge Weysan Dunn, for their work in the investigation leading to the charges against Brahm. Christie also credited FBI Special Agents and the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Milwaukee, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard K. Ruminski, for their work in the investigation, as well as the Wauwatosa, Wis. Police Department for its assistance in the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys L. Judson Welle and Camelia M. Valdes, assigned to the U.S. Attorney’s Terrorism Unit, in Newark. -end- Defense Counsel: Walter A. Lesnevich, Esq., Hackensack |
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