This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A user apparently named Sarah with the Twitter handle "@QueenDemetriax_" tweeted this at the American Airlines (@americanair) account Sunday morning: "hello my name's Ibrahim and I'm from Afghanistan. I'm part of Al Qaida and on June 1st I'm gonna do something really big bye."
American Airlines quickly responded with: "Sarah, we take these threats very seriously. Your IP address and details will be forwarded to security and the FBI."
The tweet, a screenshot from Deadspin, can be seen here:
Don't tweet menacing things to airlines, like this girl: http://t.co/CTwezGfO59 pic.twitter.com/vPz1FY1oLg
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) April 13, 2014The tweet has since gone viral and "Sarah's" profile has been bombarded with other users lambasting her for the ill-advised message to the airline. Fair warning: the responses on her timeline feature obscenities from other users.
She has since gone on to claim her account was hacked, claimed she meant June 1st was "big" because it is her sister's birthday and, apparently a fan of the singer Demi Lovato, tweeted "I always wanted to be famous, but I meant like Demi Lovato famous, not Osama Bin Laden famous."
However, she also doesn't appear to be taking it very seriously, calling today, "the highlight of my twitter days," and tweeting, "I wish I had a time machine lol."
The moral of the story is: Don't tweet terrorist threats at an airline. It's never a good idea.
Update: Sarah has now taken to Twitter to defend herself, using screenshots of notes on her phone to explain the situation. She said she wrote the tweet as a joke a month ago, but didn't send it because it "wasn't a good idea." However, she says her Twitter "tripped" and sent the draft of the earlier tweet today unbeknownst to her. Read the explanation here:
Okay guys this is the truth (cont) pic.twitter.com/lGNvzBIh90
— demetria (@QueenDemetriax_) April 13, 2014(Cont) second part pic.twitter.com/05P0EA8Its
— demetria (@QueenDemetriax_) April 13, 2014
-Brennan Smith
bsmith@sltrib.com
Twitter: @brennanjsmith