Jaleel Tariq Abdul-Jabbaar (born: William Cox) of Kirkland, Washington, who posted Facebook comments threatening a former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer will avoid prison but has been ordered to stay off social media.
A Kirkland man who threatened the life of former Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson and his family was sentenced to time served and supervised release for a single count of making an interstate threat. Jaleel Tariq Abdul-Jabbaar, 46, appeared for sentencing Thursday morning before U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik. The judge followed the sentencing recommendation of federal prosecutor and probation officials that Abdul-Jabbaar not serve additional time but be supervised for the next 36 months. The judge also ordered that all of Abdul-Jabbar’s Internet use be monitored, something his attorneys had opposed. Making interstate threats carries a penalty of up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He was arrested Dec. 2 by the FBI after posting threats on Facebook over Wilson’s killing of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown. He was released on bond by Lasnik on Feb. 2. “The offense … is a serious one,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg in a sentencing memorandum. “Our civil society simply cannot tolerate the types of threatening communications made by the defendant in this case against law-enforcement officers. “The fact that the defendant was prosecuted for this conduct, and convicted of a serious federal felony offense, will send a strong deterrent message to the community about how seriously the government and the courts take this conduct,” Greenberg wrote. At the same time, Greenberg said, Abdul-Jabbaar — while possessing a “significant criminal history” — appears to suffer from mental-health issues and has been struggling to find work. Federal public defender Mike Filipovic acknowledged that while “Mr. Abdul-Jabbaar’s communications were offensive and not the best way to express his rage” over Brown’s shooting, “his actions should not brand him as a public nemesis.” Abdul-Jabbaar pleaded guilty last month to making an interstate threat against Wilson, the officer who fatally shot Brown in August. Four other counts were dismissed. According to the federal complaint, Abdul-Jabbaar tried to purchase a firearm over Facebook, telling the seller that he was “going to Ferguson,” apparently to seek revenge on Wilson. After a series of escalating declarations of outrage and threats over Brown’s shooting, Abdul-Jabbaar posted on his Facebook page Nov. 11: “Are there any REAL BLACK MEN that would love to go down to Ferguson Missouri to give back those bullets that Police Officer [D.W.] fired into the body of Mike Brown. If we’re unable to locate Officer [D.W.] then we’ll return them to his wife and if not her then his children.” Five days after the Aug. 9 shooting of Brown, the complaint said, Abdul-Jabbaar complained on his Facebook page that officials had not yet identified the officer involved. When they do, he wrote, “Then we can find where the cop’s child goes to school …” On Aug. 30, after surveillance video of the shooting was released publicly, he wrote, “We really need to start killing the police … OOoooppps I mean our oppressors.” On Sept. 15, Abdul-Jabbaar posted Wilson’s photograph after a hacker put it up on the Internet. “This dude needs his house sprayed,” he allegedly wrote. A few weeks later, he wrote, “We the oppressed people need to kill this white cop,” the complaint says. On Nov. 16, Abdul-Jabbaar wrote a lengthy missive on his Facebook page, anticipating the grand-jury decision not to charge Wilson. “How many are preparing, are prepared for Ferguson? Whatever pocket change I got I’m ready to roll to lay down my life so who is ready to roll with me.” When the grand jury returned its decision, Abdul-Jabbaar reportedly posted, “Ready to go and kill some cops.” In late October, Abdul-Jabbaar is reported to have connected with a friend on Facebook looking to buy a .40-caliber or 9-mm handgun.
source: Seattle Times
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