Summary
Briana Boston, 42, was charged with threatening a health insurance company after repeating words linked to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
During a recorded call with Blue Cross Blue Shield about a denied claim, Boston said, “Delay, deny, depose, you people are next,” echoing phrases engraved on bullet casings at Thompson’s murder scene.
Authorities allege she exploited the CEO’s homicide to make the threat.
Boston, a mother of three with no prior criminal record, was arrested and held on $100,000 bail amidst warnings of potential copycat incidents targeting healthcare executives.
Nope, even you say so:
Notice how its not that the person speaking will do it even in your own rewording? That’s how it’s not a threat
They implied the worker on the other end of the line would be the next one to suffer grevious bodily harm or death.
It doesn’t matter if she’s the one doing the killing, doesn’t matter if it was “serious”, they used the threat of violence.
It’s really that simple. You’re arguing a technicality that does not exist. Any reasonable person being on the other end of that line would have interpreted it as a threat. Period. Full stop.
Maybe the lady shouldn’t have been denied. That’s probably true. She still made a threat; and she did so on a line that we all know is being recorded.
I don’t know that it needs more than a “don’t do that”, but saying it wasn’t a threat is factually and legally incorrect.
It literally does matter legally, which is what’s being discussed surrounding her arrest, by law enforcement, and her bail being set by a Justice in a court of law.
Please, before continuing further, do some reading on “true threat,” which is the legal requirement.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/true-threats
https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/true-threats/
Before you continue to bitch about “true threat”…
you should probably go back and read the article again. This isn’t a 1A issue. She was not somehow prevented from her speech (that is the threat,) and was quite successful in delivering that speech.
Boston is being charged under Florida law. specifically statute 836.10.2b which makes it illegal to:
Again, her first amendment rights were never violated.
another statute that may be of significance here is 836.5, which makes it illegal to issue a threat for the purpose of extorting money (or other gains).
Edit to add: the threat doesn’t need to be serious, and not having a firearm doesn’t make it okay to threaten people. Is it dubious she had the physical ability to conduct the threat? absolutely. Was it stated in a moment of frustration and anger? certainly. Do I completely understand and sympathize with that anger? fucking absolutely.
however. She still issued a threat. which, if you don’t want cops showing up at your door, don’t issue a threat to someone whose just doing their job- even if their job is to railroad you and deny medical care; on a recorded phone call. and then don’t admit to it to the cops, and then continue saying shit like “they’re evil” and “They deserve karma”
of fucking course she got arrested.
To any one reading this, here’s the best free legal advice anyone can give you: SHUT THE FUCK UP. When the cops knock on your door. they are INVESTIGATING YOU. shut the fuck up and get a lawyer. Don’t admit to anything. don’t continue blathering on about how “they deserve it”. That’s how you get arrested. Boston literally did their work for them.
edit 2: you might want to look at the MTSU article you dropped. It states it rather plainly:
(emphasis mine)
That’s called a warning, threats only can come from people who intend to act
“You’re going to be next if you keep acting like this” is t a threat. “I’m going to make you the next one” is
there’s a big distinction between the two, in that warnings generally involve actions that are legal (like defending yourself, or cops arresting people, etc), vs threats that are actions which illegal (“give me your wallet or I"ll kill you”.)
Also, generally speaking, warnings frequently include things that are natural or legal consequences for your actions. “If you continue to harass X, you’ll be arrested”, is a warning, “if you don’t put down the gun, I will shoot” is a warning. “If you swim during a riptide, you’ll be pulled out to sea” is a warning. “Approve my claim or i’ll kill you” is not a warning. it’s a threat.
Yep that would be a threat. That’s not what she said though. She never said she’d do anything. She was just pointing out that someone was recently killed for the behavior they’re exhibiting, so if they’re going to keep doing that behavior, it stands to reason the same thing will happen to them.
Again. It’s not what she said. It’s what she communicated.
She communicated a threat.
Same as if, for example, somebody walks up on you and says “get in the car.” While patting a gun in their waistband.
The guy never said he’d shoot you, but you understand that he will.
Similarly she referenced a killing and said that they’re next. The implicit understanding is that she would do it. That’s what she communicated. A threat.
No, it’s not, you’re being very weird putting words in someone’s mouth
Oh, she had a gun now?
After they denied her claim, referencing a recent cultural event
Only to a complete idiot. Like you, apparently
Not really.
The call center rep likely gets daily death threats working that hellish job, ones far more direct. Ones that didn’t get the person arrested.
She implied someone at the top was going to be targeted. You know, someone the company actually cares about.