US youth arrested for Obama, bomb threats

WASHINGTON: An American youth who appeared in MTV reality show Catfish last year was arrested on Wednesday for making a series of bogus "terrorist threats" against metro stations, trains and buses in the US capital.
Jerez Nehemiah Stone-Coleman, 20, nicknamed "Kidd Cole", is accused of making 11 crank 911 calls between December last year and May, warning of bomb threats or hostage situations on the Washington transport network.
"The threat information provided in each of the 911 calls turned out to be 'wholly false,' a police statement citing court documents said.
Each hoax resulted in an emergency response and caused disruptions to transit service in some cases.
The calls included a Jan 20 threat claiming that people "from France" planned to assassinate President Barack Obama (pix) in an ambush on his motorcade and that the same group were plotting to bomb the Potomac Avenue Metro Station.
Two days later the same caller claimed he and his friends were planning to hijack a bus and kill hostages if they were not paid US$15 million (RM54.72 million).
Police linked Stone-Coleman to the threats after analysing cellphone records, digital video surveillance from stations and buses, and telephone audio, a statement said.
"We have no greater responsibility than protecting Metro's customers and employees," Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik said in a statement.
"This case demonstrates the seriousness with which we take all threats and the lengths to which we will go to bring those responsible to justice."
Stone-Coleman appeared in MTV show Catfish in May last year. The show centers around individuals who post fake biographical information on social media sites with the aim of striking up amorous online relationships. – AFP