Bomb threat
[6] Supposed motives for bomb threats include: "humor, self assertion, anger, manipulation, aggression, hate and devaluation, omnipotence, fantasy, and psychotic distortion,[7] ideology, retaliation," and creating chaos.
[28][29] False flag bomb threats are made to create the appearance of a specific group or person being responsible for an activity to disguise the true perpetrators.
For example: It was reportedly used as a pretext by the Belarusian government to divert Ryanair Flight 4978 to Minsk to arrest Raman Pratasevich, an oppositional figure.
[38][39][40] During 1999— which was the most recent year with publicly published data as of 2005— roughly 5% of bomb threats made in the United States targeted schools.
[citation needed] On December 16, 2013 at approximately 8:30 a.m. the final exams at Harvard University were disrupted by several anonymous emails threatening plant shrapnel bombs at various locations on the campus.
[citation needed] The FBI charged Eldo Kim, a sophomore at Harvard, for the false bomb threats on the following day.
Following his legal agreement, Kim agreed to publish his confession in The Harvard Crimson on November 25th, pay restitution to law enforcement agencies, complete a rehabilitative "diversionary program", remain under home confinement for four months, and perform 750 hours of community service.
[58][59] Private institutions and businesses, including as banks, department stores, malls, casinos, restaurants, manufacturing plants,[60] and truck stops, have been the recipients of bomb threats for various reasons.
[70] Some threats are motivated by money, involving an offender demanding a payoff from a bank or department store over a public phone.
[61] Other reasons for attacking a restaurant or shopping center include revenge or vandalism, the primary motives found in a study analyzing 69 Finnish offenders.
[85][86] Organizations involved in responding to a bomb threat may also include anti-terrorism government agencies, fire departments, and other emergency services.
[27] The decision to evacuate an area or building, depending on the perceived reliability of the threat, may be made by local controlling authorities or those in charge of the targeted facility based on advice from bomb disposal experts.
[8] Some statutory definitions include the threatened use, release or placement of other harmful agents, such as poisons, biological pathogens, radioactive materials, or even a dangerous weapon (e.g., aboard an airliner).
Other statutes enhance the penalties for threats made against specific places or persons (e.g. government facilities or dignitaries), and the actual possession of harmful devices or agents.
[96] In Orange County in North Carolina, a person may face "a felony charge, a 365-day suspension, revocation of his or her driver’s license, and a civil lawsuit of up to $25,000.
"[27] The current federal law regarding bomb threats applies to a person who "threatens by any means the placement or setting of a weapon of mass destruction.
[101] Because of copycat trends, some schools are moving toward policies of immediate criminal action against students caught making such threats, regardless of motivation.
