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.
How to tell no one has ever threatened you.
Glad you live a safe law protected by laws.
I’ve worked contract security and have had people threaten me over being told they can’t park in a handicap space to pick up their spouse.
I’ve had those same people then try and follow me home, then tell the cops we happened to be going the same way. (Despite it being hours later.)
You cannot tell who will and who won’t.
A threat was communicated and a threat was meant to be communicated. That’s enough to satisfy the first amendment’s need for subjective “intention.”
Which is why this isn’t a first amendment issue. Boston meant what she said, and we know that; because she doubled down on it with the cops.
It isn’t the intention to carry out the threat, it’s the intention to make the threat.
I’ve worked front line call center just like this situation. I’ve had a shit ton of threats. None of them were ever going to do shit, most of them were much worse than what she said.
If her statement is the bar, then at least 3/4 of calls into any customer service number would result in an arrest. If we’re going to apply the law equally, then we need to apply it equally and arrest 3/4 of the population.
In person threats are a completely different situation than an escalated customer service call.