Deaf man arrested for fake Statue of Liberty bomb threat
By Josh Saul
August 19, 2015
A deaf West Virginia man was arrested in Texas on Wednesday for calling in a fake bomb threat to blow up the Statue of Liberty – which forced the evacuation of more than 3,200 people from Liberty Island back in April, authorities said.
Jason Paul Smith, 42, called 911 from his iPad on April 24 and said his name was “Abdul Yasin,” that he was an “ISI terrorist,” and threatened that “we” are preparing to “blow up” the Statue of Liberty, court papers state.
Abdul Yasin is the last remaining fugitive charged with the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, according to court papers.
Smith goes to a school for the deaf and blind, and allegedly made the 911 call using a service that lets hearing-impaired people make phone calls.
The iPad registered to Smith made other 911 calls, including two in May 2015 from somebody who identified himself as “Isis allah Bomb maker” and who threatened to attack Times Square and kill police officers at the Brooklyn Bridge, according to the Manhattan US Attorney.
Smith could face up to five years behind bars for making the hoax call. He’ll appear Wednesday afternoon in federal court in the Northern District of Texas.
SOURCE:
http://nypost.com/2015/08/19/deaf-man-arrested-for-fake-statue-of-liberty-bomb-threat/