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[Dan]

Remember this shit from December? Old thread: Trump Youth intentionally triggered a seizure in Kurt Eichenwald, then gloated

John Rivello Arrested as Suspect Accused of Causing Newsweek Writer Kurt Eichenwald's Seizure via Twitter

An alleged Twitter troll behind a virtual attack that caused Newsweek senior writer Kurt Eichenwald to suffer a seizure was arrested on Friday for cyberstalking. The suspect faces federal charges and could face additional counts in Dallas, where Eichenwald lives, according to the writer.

Steven Lieberman, Eichenwald’s lawyer, named the suspect as John Rivello. A law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity initially confirmed the name, and a United States Department of Justice statement further confirmed it Friday evening. FBI officials arrested the man at his home in in Salisbury, Maryland, around 7 a.m. Friday, according to Lieberman. Rivello was expected to appear at a hearing in federal court in Baltimore on Friday afternoon, the lawyer said.

The Justice Department released additional details Friday afternoon after Rivello appeared in court. A search warrant found that in direct messages to other Twitter users, Rivello wrote, “I hope this sends him into a seizure,” “Spammed this at [victim] let’s see if he dies,” and “I know he has epilepsy.” The search warrant also found screenshots on Rivello’s iCloud account “from epilepsy.com with a list of commonly reported epilepsy seizure triggers,” the Justice Department said, and other screenshots related to Eichenwald.

Since the December incident, more than 40 other people have sent similar strobing images to Eichenwald, the writer tweeted on Friday. He said that “details of their cases are with the FBI.” A spokesperson for the FBI office in Dallas said she could not comment on ongoing investigations.

Another article said they'd also found Photoshopped images of Eichenwald's Wikipedia page, with a date of death edited in.

Good riddance, I hope this guy gets the book thrown at him.

 

[norm9]

29 year old trying to injure/kill on twitter with strobe gifs. Moron should have picked a more wholesome hobby.

 

[Stinkles]

In before first amendment/Lulz


Dude left a hell of a trail of intent. And he was thirty years old.


My god. Put him in jail for a long time and hope it gives his fellow trolls pause.

 

[Hydrophobic]

In before first amendment/Lulz


Dude left a hell of a trail of intent. And he was thirty years old.


My god. Put him in jail for a long time and hope it gives his fellow trolls pause.

Don't worry, that was more or less the crux of the lawyer's argument as to why twitter shouldn't give up the dude's identity.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

What a dick.

 

[sooperkool]

It never ceases to amaze me that people think they can do or say whatever on the internet and it's ok

 

[Amir0x]

I just hope the court accepts the argument about the harassment/threatening nature of this attack and don't reject it on free speech grounds. Courts have been known to be dodgy about this sort of online harassment case in the past.

 

[The Ummah]

Good, I bet the other people that decided to join in are shitting their pants at the moment.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Moral of the story: 4channers are bad people and if you know one you should probably cut them out of your life.

 

[zeemumu]

It's always been a sort of irrational fear that one day I'd post a GIF that accidentally gave someone a seizure. It's shitty that there are people out there actively attempting to induce seizures.

 

[Hickbilly Deluxe]

Moral of the story: 4channers are bad people and if you know one you should probably cut them out of your life.

Nah, plenty of good boards there with tons of information. Just avoid b, pol, soc, mlp, and that creepy assed X board and you'll be fine.

 

[Amir0x]

you know a place is good when the first thing people have to do is list a volley of places not to visit so you'll be fine

also, even when browsing the "good" boards for curiosity, I've seen people casually drop the n word and jewish slurs.

It's a shit show. There are better places for information, humour and internet socializing. It's ok to aim higher.

 

[Silver Arrows]

Nah, plenty of good boards there with tons of information. Just avoid b, pol, soc, mlp, and that creepy assed X board and you'll be fine.

Yeah, no.

Just because a few good boards exist doesn't absolve the fact that the rest of the site is an utter shithole.

Edit: What Amir0x said. Even on the supposed 'good' boards, racial charged language is still commonplace. It's pretty much common 4chan parlance at this point.

 

[Atom Heart Mother]

Moral of the story: 4channers are bad people and if you know one you should probably cut them out of your life.

No, that's not really a great way to generalize people. Plenty of boards on the website are good and fine. /pol/ is the only shit one and it shows again.

Yeah, no.

Just because a few good boards exist doesn't absolve the fact that the rest of the site is an utter shithole.

Edit: What Amir0x said. Even on the supposed 'good' boards, racial charged language is still commonplace. It's pretty much common 4chan parlance at this point.

I see racial slurs and stuff like that everywhere. It's not only 4chan.

 

[ultratruman]

Must've been terrifying for his wife.

 

[Amir0x]

I see racial slurs and stuff like that everywhere. It's not only 4chan.

In defense of 4chan, by Atom Heart Mother

"So what the place is a racist shit stain on the internet, there's plenty of racist shit everywhere."

Which is why it's banned on neoGAF and you don't see it here. Because this place isn't an abhorrent black hole on reasonable people everywhere.

 

[Phobophile]

29 year old trying to injure/kill on twitter with strobe gifs. Moron should have picked a more wholesome hobby.

Not much else to do on the Eastern Shore other than drinking, hunting, fishing, or crabbing

 

[Deepwater]

Good, I remember when this happened and thought it was completely abhorrent. People fucking around on this internet shit man, abusers and harassers need to see legal action against them more often

 

[Atom Heart Mother]

In defense of 4chan, by Atom Heart Mother

"So what the place is a racist shit stain on the internet, there's plenty of racist shit everywhere."

Which is why it's banned on neoGAF and you don't see it here. Because this place isn't an abhorrent black hole on reasonable people everywhere.

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

Please stop posting on GAF.

 

[pigeon]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them.

Why Trump won

 

[Amir0x]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

You really demonstrated to the class why we should not totally paint 4chan as a shithole filled with terrible people. Because I know I want to associate with mouthbreathing assholes who think it's cool to joke about dehumanizing people of color or of a certain sex or orientation because it's "part of the culture." *clap clap clap*

Saying it's odd but "that's how it is" basically is the worst defense you could have made, and it demonstrates why you may belong there but nobody else who has a moral bone in their body should.

 

[Icolin]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

Yeesh.

 

[guybrushfreeman]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

Raise your standards. You can do better

 

[excelsiorlef]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

This might actually be the worst defense of 4chan ever. I'm impressed.... Sure they use slurs but that's just how it is...

And they aren't only words, my god.

 

[Silver Arrows]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

Three letters is all I need: smh

 

[inky]

Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is.

What the fuck is this shit... Of course they mean it, don't be stupid. What world are you living in where these are just words?

 

[Knuckle Sandwich]

Good. Hope they throw the book at him. Make an example.

That shit is fucking scary, man. Someone (can't remember who) had a seizure around me when I was 7 or 8. I didn't know what the fuck was going on and freaked the hell out.

 

[hollomat]

I feel that the law needs to catch up and have new crimes to charge people with for all the terrible stuff people are doing on the internet these days. I'm glad they were able to arrest the guy, but it seems to warrant a more serious than cyberstalking.

Although if this had happened in person where he just ran up to him and showed him the images and triggered a seizure, I don't know what the charge would or should be, just that there should be one.

 

[Amir0x]

dont worry guys he's color blind you see

 

[Fat4all]

It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd,

 

[Breads]

What the fuck is this shit... Of course they mean it, don't be stupid. What world are you living in where these are just words?

Yeah seriously. This line of thinking is incredibly stupid.

In 03 when battlenet kiddies where mashing NIGGER FAGGOT JEW on Diablo and Warcraft people shrugged it off as kids joking around and being kids.

Now that they grew up to be alt-righters and gamer gators and PUAs and mgtows and r/t_ders and people are still saying they don't really mean it? The precedent is already here. We need only to look at shitlords like Jontron to know that yeah - they meant it and they weren't joking.

 

[rjinaz]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

I don't think you now how racism works. It's not getting upset at skin color. Eww he has White skin! It's stereotypes associated with people that have a certain skin color or look. There is a long and complicated history that leads to these stereotypes and a lot of it is institutionalized. A lot of it also is so common in this country people don't even realize they are doing it.

Also fuck "it's just words". Words can kill, especially if somebody is already depressed. But sure, link to a comedian to prove your point.

 

[Speevy]

I don't think George Carlin would defend 4chan.

 

[Dan]

I feel that the law needs to catch up and have new crimes to charge people with for all the terrible stuff people are doing on the internet these days. I'm glad they were able to arrest the guy, but it seems to warrant a more serious than cyberstalking.

Although if this had happened in person where he just ran up to him and showed him the images and triggered a seizure, I don't know what the charge would or should be, just that there should be one.

Looking around, I see the NYTimes article says he was charged with "criminal cyberstalking with the intent to kill or cause bodily harm" and that can carry a 10 year prison sentence according to the prosecutor. Some news reports have said he may ultimately face more charges, too.

So I don't think it's as simple as 'cyberstalking' might make it sound.

 

[skullmuffins]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

4chan is trash and "containment boards" don't work. They don't "contain" anything. You know what happens when a dedicated "racists can post here" board is created? Assholes gain a "safe space" of sorts and are attracted, not deterred, from posting on the site in general. Some of those assholes have other interests and start posting on the other boards.

And who was it that wrote that 4chan "edgy" spaces have been "ironically" racist/bigoted/etc for so long they totally missed how much -actual- bigots have invaded and taken over?

Yeah.

I've moderated other (not 4chan) forums and dealt with heavy 4chan users (not /pol/ but more "mainstream" boards like /g/ and /mu/). That "culture" of using slurs doesn't stop at 4chan... they bring that attitude everywhere and it's toxic.

 

[Anarky]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

brah are you seriously using "that's just how it is" as an actual defense of 4chan's bigotry?

 

[A Link to the Past]

I just hope the court accepts the argument about the harassment/threatening nature of this attack and don't reject it on free speech grounds. Courts have been known to be dodgy about this sort of online harassment case in the past.

Nah, I don't think that would really play in this situation; I mean, the prosecution has evidence that the defendant knew what could occur as a result of his actions, and indeed that his goal was to cause that to happen. There's really no good faith defense to his actions.

 

[Aytumious]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

If you actually believe this, start referring to your mother and grandmother as "slut" instead of what you'd normally call them and use the same defense. Tell them that words are just words and that they should get over it if they are upset by your actions.

 

[Phlebas]

Assault by gif is now a criminal offence.

What a world

 

[Dash_Riprock]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

And here I thought the Trump Philosophy Major and Reddit Guy Who Brags About Having an Alt Account On GAF (which has the same name as his Reddit account) would be the dumbest posts this week.

Holy Crap.

 

[Aytumious]

Assault by gif is now a criminal offence.

What a world

Do you think it should be a crime to intentionally trigger a seizure for someone you know is epileptic in person?

 

[markofhavoc]

Assault by gif is now a criminal offence.

What a world

Did you read the article?

 

[rjinaz]

Assault by gif is now a criminal offence.

What a world

You serious?

Intent to kill is a criminal offense. What a world indeed.

But lmao liberals right?

 

[AtomskEater]

C'mon Phlebas. I mean if you add peanuts to someone's food knowing they're deathly allergic, and there is even evidence that proves you hoped they'd eat it and die, it's not the mere action of spicing food with peanuts that you're being arrested for here. :/

 

[pigeon]

Assault by gif is now a criminal offence.

What a world

Hence the word assault

 

[Funyarinpa]

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

I say this as someone who rarely goes to 4chan for the occasional not-worthless discussion (good threads on /v/, and porn occasionally), and just no, man. 4chan *is* a shithole.

 

[excelsiorlef]

Assault by gif is now a criminal offence.

What a world

Sending someone an image with the expressed intent of causing them to have a seizure in hopes that it kills them is yeah... care to explain why it's not?

 

[studyguy]

I mean if you hand someone a peanut knowing they have a fatal peanut allergy, chances are good you're going to face serious repercussions. I don't see a difference in that from someone shooting someone an animated image specifically meant to trigger a seizure. You know you're doing something potentially dangerous in either situation.

 

[Crossing Eden]

Nah, plenty of good boards there with tons of information. Just avoid b, pol, soc, mlp, and that creepy assed X board and you'll be fine.

Dude, reddit is more of a racist shit stain than 4chan. I don't condone any actual racism (Honestly, I think it's a rather weird concept to get upset over skin color), but if you truly dislike 4chan for saying racial slurs and other meaningless insults, you really need to just get off the internet in general because it's everywhere. Do people actually mean when they call another poster on 4chan a "faggot" or a "nigger"? No, they do it as a joke. It is part of their culture, and yeah it's odd, but that's how it is. It's just words, and it depends on the way the person is saying them. /pol/ is an absolute racist shit stain on 4chan, it is by far the worst board (though they produced some funny stuff once in a while). Don't group them up with everyone else. It's just tiring to see 4chan still be a "boogeyman" on the internet.

For the record, I only go to /v/ and /ic/.

Assault by gif is now a criminal offence.

What a world

Haven't even gotten past the first page and we have people defending straight up racism as "just words" and "culture" and downplaying the severity of the attack. Fucking great.....