Federal prosecutors have charged a Wisconsin man as the source of an Internet posting that threatened to detonate radioactive “dirty bombs” at NFL stadiums in seven states.
Jake J. Brahm, 20, of Wauwatosa, Wis., was charged in a criminal complaint with willfully conveying false information or hoaxes threatening to damage buildings through the use of weapons of mass destruction and radiological dispersal devices. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie in New Jersey said Mr. Brahm, a grocery store worker, turned himself in yesterday to the U.S. Marshal’s Service in Milwaukee on a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J.
FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said Mr. Brahm was first taken into custody by local police in Wauwatosa on Wednesday, based on information police received that he was the source of the Internet threat to bomb the stadiums. The FBI was immediately notified, and Mr. Brahm was interviewed by agents Wednesday evening.
“These types of hoaxes scare innocent people, cost business resources and waste valuable homeland security resources,” Mr. Christie said. “We cannot tolerate this Internet version of yelling fire in a crowded theater in the post-9/11 era.”
According to the criminal complaint, Mr. Brahm told the FBI he posted the threatening message at least 40 times on various Web sites.
Mr. Kolko said that in the message, Mr. Brahm warned that on Oct. 22, seven “dirty explosive devices” would be delivered by truck and detonated at NFL stadiums in New Jersey, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland, Calif., and Cleveland.
All but the Atlanta stadium are open-air arenas and, according to message, that would allow for a maximum death toll, with the radioactive fallout spreading beyond the stadium to a wider area.
“The death toll will approach 100,000 from the initial blasts and countless other fatalities will later occur as result from radioactive fallout,” the message said, adding that the explosions would be lauded by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and the aftermath of the near-simultaneous blasts would be civil wars around the globe.
“Global economies will screech to a halt,” the message said. “General chaos will rule.”
Mr. Christie credited FBI agents in Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leslie G. Wiser, Jr., for their work in the investigation leading to the charges against Mr. Brahm. He also credited FBI agents and the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Milwaukee, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard K. Ruminski, for their work in the investigation, as well as the Wauwatosa Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Hammer, Jr., chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Terrorism Unit in Newark.
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