Massachusetts high schooler charged with terrorism for rap lyrics on Facebook
Methuen, Massachusetts high school senior Cameron D'Ambrosio was arrested in May 2013 and charged with communicating terroristic threats after posting original rap lyrics on Facebook that referenced the Boston Marathon bombing. A grand jury declined to indict and he was released after about a month in jail.
On May 1, 2013, Methuen High School student Cameron D'Ambrosio was arrested after posting rap lyrics to Facebook that included violent imagery and a passing reference to the Boston Marathon bombing, which had occurred two weeks earlier. He was charged with communicating terroristic threats, a felony carrying up to 20 years. D'Ambrosio was held without bail. After a national outcry led by digital rights groups and a Change.org petition signed by nearly 100,000 people, an Essex County grand jury declined to indict him on June 6, 2013, and he was released after more than a month in jail. The case is cited by free-expression advocates as an example of criminal charges over artistic expression online.