Online outburst turns Twitter user in Britain into a criminal, for some, and a cause.
LONDON — He missed the plane. Now thousands of annoyed Internet users say authorities missed the joke.
When Paul Chambers was arrested and fined for posting a jocular message to micro-blogging site Twitter in which he threatened to blow up northern England's Robin Hood Airport if it didn't reopen in time for his flight, it caused a minor stir.
Now that a court has turned down his appeal, thousands of online fans are posting comic threats to the airport as a show of support.
Many have added the tag "IAmSpartacus" to their posts — a reference to the Stanley Kubrick's 1960 film epic "Spartacus," in which the titular hero's fellow rebels all assume his identity in a gesture of solidarity.
The online revolt — The Associated Press counted about 5,000 posts carrying the "IAmSpartacus" tag within two hours — seems to have cowed authorities. A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police scoffed and said "no" when asked if police planned on arresting any of Chambers' online fans. She refused to answer when asked why the thousands of jokey threats to blow Robin Hood Airport "sky high" would be treated any differently from the original tweet that led to his arrest.
It started when Chambers was alarmed after heavy snow closed the airport before his flight. In a profane message posted to dozens of followers Jan. 6, he said: "Robin Hood Airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get (it) together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!"
The tweet was noticed by an airport duty manager browsing the Internet five days later. He forwarded it to his manager, and — even though the threat was deemed "noncredible" — it was passed on to police. On Jan. 13, Chambers was arrested. His case file notes that "there is no evidence at this stage that this is anything other than a foolish comment posted on Twitter as a joke for only his close friends to see," but he was charged and convicted anyway.
source: http://www.statesman.com
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