Here's a weird one: A New Jersey man has been charged with threatening now-former President Obama's life on Facebook. A report in the Philadelphia Inquirer has the details:
Federal prosecutors say William Peterman Jr., 33, of Medford Lakes and Beaufort, S.C., posted two death threats on his Facebook page last week, including one addressed to "President Barack Hussein Obama II" that stated "I will kill you."
According to court filings, Peterman later told U.S. Secret Service agents that he believed Obama admitted the affair during his Jan. 10 farewell speech in Chicago. In doing so, Peterman allegedly told agents that the president had given him "permission to kill him."
"I typed the words and posted them," he said, according to his arrest affidavit. "He [Obama] wronged me. He got sex for himself."
Authorities released few details about Peterman's life. On his Facebook page, he said he was born in East Norriton and had attended The College of New Jersey. He recently complained about his inability to get a job as a bank teller despite having a license as a certified public accountant.
A quick search of CPA Verify shows a William Peterman who is licensed in New Jersey but lists "Beaufort, SC" for his mailing address.
But that's not all! Peterman believed "God had chosen" this woman for him and in one of his Facebook posts he "announced he had scheduled their wedding for Friday and booked a reception at a Reading hotel." Then! Then! It starts getting really weird. Back to the Inquirer report:
One of the woman's coworkers said Thursday that she had never met Peterman before he showed up at her office several months ago screaming her name. She was horrified, the coworker said, when Peterman later began inviting the woman's friends and family to their purported wedding.
Yikes. A Department of Justice press release reminds everyone that they don't screw around when it comes to this stuff:
“This case and the resulting indictment demonstrates the Secret Service’s proactive stance investigating threats against those we are sworn to protect,” said James Henry, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Philadelphia Field Office. “When brought to our attention – whether in person, electronically or written, the Secret Service takes every threat very seriously.”
Peterman faces up to five years in prison, hefty fines and pretty limited job opportunities from here on out.
Image: Facebook
