
A Bad Rap…
A high school student from New Jersey is currently facing up to 10 years in prison for a graphic song and photo he uploaded to SoundCloud according to BuzzFeed News.
The song titled, “u lil sluts @ jchs i love u all even tho yall hurt me and i forgive u. i would never hurt u,” was recorded just ten days after the Feb. 14 Parkland shooting which caused fellow students, teachers, and law enforcement to worry that 18-year-old Michael Schmitt might’ve been planning a mass shooting.
A student saw Schmitt’s tweet and then noticed that his profile photo on SoundCloud showed him pointing a handgun at the camera. The alarmed student thought Schmitt’s track sounded violent and told her mom, who then alerted a teacher, according to police reports. This fear provoked SWAT teams to descend upon his school after the song was shared on his Twitter and Snapchat.
A SWAT team evacuated New Jersey’s James Caldwell High School, and the concert it was supposed to host that day was canceled.
Principal Jim Devlin says police did the right thing: “He says there wasn’t a plan, but we don’t know for certain.” pic.twitter.com/zIDcoH2733
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) June 11, 2018
According to police records, when cops arrived at James Caldwell High School on February 24, music teacher Scott Chamberlain and a parent showed them a Snapchat video Schmitt had posted. It was a sample of his new track that he had captioned, “I’ll give ya a little extra to hate me for today.” They also showed officers Schmitt’s 10 a.m. tweet that read, “hi sluts get yr face fucked” and shared a link to the rap.
After the lockdown, Schmitt was arrested and charged for creating a “false public alarm.” In New Jersey, that charge can carry a five to ten-year prison sentence. Schmitt is currently on house arrest, waiting for his potential trial.
In the wake of the Parkland and Santa Fe high school shootings, 18-year-old Tyler Schmitt’s arrest has sparked debate over what constitutes a threat against students’ safety, and what is free expression. pic.twitter.com/hmsdl2z9cj
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) June 11, 2018
For more on the story visit BuzzFeed News
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