Man Arrested For Facebook Threat

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 16, 2010 2:40PM

Apparently, the bone-headed move of making threats via social media sites isn't just for teens. Buffalo Grove's Michael Sullivan, 41, was arrested at his workplace in Vernon Hills after an out-of-state Facebook friend contacted police because of threats Sullivan had posted on his page via his cellphone. The threat: "Mike Sullivan is again ready to start killing indiscriminately. I'm going to put Vernon Hills on the freakin map."

But Sullivan claimed he wasn't serious about the post. According to the Tribune: "Sullivan, a single father holding three jobs, told police he was just venting and joking around, and that he is under a lot of stress, according to the police report. He volunteered to change his Facebook postings, the report said." We get Sullivan was venting - who among us hasn't posted a status message along the lines of "[Name] is so annoyed at Tankboy that I'm gonna kick him in the shins next time I see him LOL" - but in an era when a student can't even criticize a teacher online without getting in trouble, you sure as hell can't threaten to kill people.

Sullivan was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, released on $75 bail, and has an April 19 court date.