A Florida man who threatened President Obama loses his appeal
Joaquin Serrapio Jr., a former Miami-Dade college student who threatened to kill President Obama in February 2012, has lost his federal appeal to overturn his sentence of 45 days in a halfway house and a year of monitored house arrest.
The Miami Times reported that two days before President Obama was set to arrive in Miami for a campaign speech, Serrapio posted on his Facebook page, “Who wants to help me assassinate Obummer while hes at UM this week?”
Two days after his Facebook post, Serrapio, who tweeted under the name Jay_Valor, tweeted out a comment in which he dared the U.S. Secret Service to come after him.
“Secret Service where u at! I threatened ur precious typrant! Ull b sorry u didnt come looking for me in a couple of hours,” Serrapio tweeted.
According to the Miami Times, the secret service arrived the next day at Serrapio’s home and placed him in federal custody.
Serrapio initially pleaded not guilty but he later changed his plea to guilty. The lower court sentenced Serrapio on August 22, 2012, to three years of probation, four months of monitored house arrest, and 250 hours of community service.
But on September 18, 2012, the lower court increased Serrapio’s sentence to 45 days in a halfway house and a year of monitored house arrest.
Serrapio told the federal appeals court that the sentence was a violation of his due process and free speech rights and his right to not be subjected to double-jeopardy.
The lower court stated that its decision to increase the sentence was based on Karla Barrios’ article, which was published on September 11, 2012, titled “Serrapio Calls Facebook Obama Threat ‘Funny.’
Barrios is a journalist with the Miami-Dade College campus newspaper The Reporter. According to Barrios, Serrapio bragged about threatening to kill President Obama.
Serrapio told Barrios that his threat against President Obama “was pretty funny to me and my friends,” and that the court could not confine him to his home where he has been living in “since 1998.”
Serrapio further stated that his threat against President Obama was good for his (Joaquin Serrapio) rock band’s, Jay Valor, business.
Barrios quotes Serrapio as saying, “A lot of good has come out of this, even for my music. The same week I got out of jail, I had a show that Saturday and a lot of people showed up to see the kid who threatened to kill the president.”
According to the U.S. 11th District Appeals Court Justice Alberto Jordan, who wrote the federal appeals court’s opinion, the lower court stated in its opinion that Barrios’ article was evidence of Serrapio not understanding the severity of his actions.
Justice Jordan agreed with the lower court that Barrios’ article provided enough evidence for the court to increase Serrapio’s sentence.
Jordan is quoted in the court’s opinion as saying, “Like others before him, Joaquin Serrapio, Jr. learned the hard way that whatever one says to a reporter may later appear in print.”
Serrapio made an earlier attempt to offset the damage done by Barrios’ article. On the same day that Barrios’ article was published, Serrapio published an article in The Reporter titled “Beware of What You Post on Social Media.”
Serrapio complained about having a felony record at the age of 21. He also admitted that he was wrong for posting the threatening comments.
Serrapio is quoted in his article as saying, “On February 23, 2012, I admittedly made the biggest mistake of my life. A mistake, I now hope young people can learn from-I knew I had no intent of harming anyone, but how would they know after reading my words. I posted these comments with the intent of being sarcastic, typical of my sense of humor.”
He went on to praise the lower court judge for recognizing that he was not a credible threat to President Obama’s safety, and for giving him, Serrapio, a sentence that was not in accordance with the five year prison sentence under the federal guidelines.
Justice Jordan acknowledged that Serrapio had written an article as a counter to Barrios’ article. However, the judge stated that Serrapio’s article did not have much of a positive effect on the court’s opinion.
Justice Jordan stated that Barrios’ article was evidence of an “age old saying” that Justice J. Frankfurt had written about the duty judges have when sentencing a convicted criminal.
Justice Jordan quoted Justice Frankfurt as saying, “probation grew out of a realization that to make the punishment fit the criminal requires wisdom seldom available immediately after conviction.”
The Miami Times reported that two days before President Obama was set to arrive in Miami for a campaign speech, Serrapio posted on his Facebook page, “Who wants to help me assassinate Obummer while hes at UM this week?”
Two days after his Facebook post, Serrapio, who tweeted under the name Jay_Valor, tweeted out a comment in which he dared the U.S. Secret Service to come after him.
“Secret Service where u at! I threatened ur precious typrant! Ull b sorry u didnt come looking for me in a couple of hours,” Serrapio tweeted.
According to the Miami Times, the secret service arrived the next day at Serrapio’s home and placed him in federal custody.
Serrapio initially pleaded not guilty but he later changed his plea to guilty. The lower court sentenced Serrapio on August 22, 2012, to three years of probation, four months of monitored house arrest, and 250 hours of community service.
But on September 18, 2012, the lower court increased Serrapio’s sentence to 45 days in a halfway house and a year of monitored house arrest.
Serrapio told the federal appeals court that the sentence was a violation of his due process and free speech rights and his right to not be subjected to double-jeopardy.
The lower court stated that its decision to increase the sentence was based on Karla Barrios’ article, which was published on September 11, 2012, titled “Serrapio Calls Facebook Obama Threat ‘Funny.’
Barrios is a journalist with the Miami-Dade College campus newspaper The Reporter. According to Barrios, Serrapio bragged about threatening to kill President Obama.
Serrapio told Barrios that his threat against President Obama “was pretty funny to me and my friends,” and that the court could not confine him to his home where he has been living in “since 1998.”
Serrapio further stated that his threat against President Obama was good for his (Joaquin Serrapio) rock band’s, Jay Valor, business.
Barrios quotes Serrapio as saying, “A lot of good has come out of this, even for my music. The same week I got out of jail, I had a show that Saturday and a lot of people showed up to see the kid who threatened to kill the president.”
According to the U.S. 11th District Appeals Court Justice Alberto Jordan, who wrote the federal appeals court’s opinion, the lower court stated in its opinion that Barrios’ article was evidence of Serrapio not understanding the severity of his actions.
Justice Jordan agreed with the lower court that Barrios’ article provided enough evidence for the court to increase Serrapio’s sentence.
Jordan is quoted in the court’s opinion as saying, “Like others before him, Joaquin Serrapio, Jr. learned the hard way that whatever one says to a reporter may later appear in print.”
Serrapio made an earlier attempt to offset the damage done by Barrios’ article. On the same day that Barrios’ article was published, Serrapio published an article in The Reporter titled “Beware of What You Post on Social Media.”
Serrapio complained about having a felony record at the age of 21. He also admitted that he was wrong for posting the threatening comments.
Serrapio is quoted in his article as saying, “On February 23, 2012, I admittedly made the biggest mistake of my life. A mistake, I now hope young people can learn from-I knew I had no intent of harming anyone, but how would they know after reading my words. I posted these comments with the intent of being sarcastic, typical of my sense of humor.”
He went on to praise the lower court judge for recognizing that he was not a credible threat to President Obama’s safety, and for giving him, Serrapio, a sentence that was not in accordance with the five year prison sentence under the federal guidelines.
Justice Jordan acknowledged that Serrapio had written an article as a counter to Barrios’ article. However, the judge stated that Serrapio’s article did not have much of a positive effect on the court’s opinion.
Justice Jordan stated that Barrios’ article was evidence of an “age old saying” that Justice J. Frankfurt had written about the duty judges have when sentencing a convicted criminal.
Justice Jordan quoted Justice Frankfurt as saying, “probation grew out of a realization that to make the punishment fit the criminal requires wisdom seldom available immediately after conviction.”
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