When Posting on Facebook Leads to Criminal Charges

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Facebook users share approximately 2.7 million posts per minute or about 3 billion per day. One can expect some of the posts will violate Meta's ever-changing, capricious Community Standards, often unintentionally. Most violations result in a warning, although repeat offenders may find themselves upstate in the Facebook Pen -and may serve a life sentence if they repeatedly violate the rules, since Meta may delete the account completely.

The edgy folk, the trolls, and like-seekers who post extreme content may face criminal charges in real life if their post catches the wrong eye. More than a handful of people have found themselves criminally charged after their off-color Facebook posts, including the individuals in the following stories.

Teen Lands in Jail After Facebook Post Threatening to Shoot up Kindergarten

No one told Justin Smith, 19, even the edgiest of edge'rs aren't cool with jokes about shooting up a school.

When another Facebook user commented, “You’re insane” on one of Smith’s posts, Smith posted an edgy response that landed him in jail for several months.

“I’m f*cked in the head alright. I think Ima (sic) shoot up a kindergarten and watch the blood of the innocent rain down and eat the beating heart of one of them.” He followed that post with an “LOL” and a third post reading “J/K,” but a Canadian woman did not find anything funny about the post and contacted authorities.

See what I did there with the forbidden f-bomb? I don't think Vocal cares for it, either.

Justin lived with his family in Braunfels, Texas -about two miles from an elementary school. A judge found his comment serious enough to issue a warrant for Justin's arrest.

Smith spent several months in jail, facing up to 10 years in prison before the charges against him were dropped after a search of the Smith home yielded no evidence that suggested his threats were serious.

Jokes About Missing Kids Leads to Arrest

Another edgy boy made comments about two missing children, but I think it will be the last time.

Matthew Woods from England made some pretty vile comments on several Facebook posts about missing kids that landed him three months in jail.

Woods' commented on a post about missing 4-year-old Madeleine McCann and another post about 5-year-old April Jones. Both girls disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

“Who in their right mind would abduct a ginger kid,”?

“I woke up this morning in the back of a transit van with two beautiful little girls. I found April in a hopeless place.”

An angry mob of people showed up at Woods’ front doorstep, leading him to issue an apology. He told the group he made the comments during a drunken stupor. Police showed up moments later and took him to jail.

I agree the comments were tasteless, but were they jail-worthy?

Pedophile Arrested After Communicating With Pedophile Hunter

In 2019, pedophile Kevin Talbot, 61, communicated with whom he thought to be a 13-year-old teenager on Facebook. Turned out, the person was a pedophile hunter tracking down sickos like Talbot.

Talbot sent sexually explicit photographs and engaged in equally explicit sexual conversation with the decoy. The decoy visited Talbot’s home and made a citizen's arrest. He was charged with several counts of sex offenses and received a suspended sentence.

Vietnam Man Sentenced to 7 Years After “Anti-State” Facebook Posts

A Vietnam court sentenced Facebook user Nguyen Tri Gioan, 42, to seven years incarceration after convicting him of spreading misinformation about the state.

According to a Reuters report, Gloan posted poems and images on his Facebook account that the Vietnam court considered to “distort, slander, and defame the leadership of the Vietnam Communist party.”

Drunk Driving, Hit-and-Run? LOL!

Paula Asher drove drunk, hit a car full of teens, and drove away. Police stopped her down the road and charged her with DUI. The 18-year-old posted bond later that night.

Back home, Asher posted on Facebook about the criminal charges she had racked up. “Drunk driving. Hit-and-Run? LOL!” the post read.

A judge ordered Asher to delete the post, but she refused, forcing a judge to sentence her to two days in jail. She apologized for her actions after her jail release.

Don’t Brag About Warrants in a Facebook Post

Eddie Smith wins the “I’m Not a Smart Man" award after mistakenly assuming that police officers do not use social media. Smith bragged on Facebook about having 16 outstanding warrants, including an LOL in the post.

Police officers arrested Smith the same day.

The moral of this story is STFU about it on social media if you have warrants or you can expect a visit from a friendly, caring officer.