Sarcastic lyrics land Cape Breton teen in court

A Cape Breton teen has been charged with making death threats entirely on the basis of sarcastic lyrics of a song he posted on Facebook, says his lawyer, who argues the case does not meet the test of a Criminal Code threat.

Nelson Fletcher Rudderham, 18, of Inverness, N.S., was arrested March 22 after RCMP said officers investigated a report of threats against students and staff of Inverness Education Centre Academy posted on a social media site.

He has been charged with uttering death threats.

His lawyer Kevin Patriquin maintains the teen simply posted a song to a social media site, which police allege constitutes the threat.

“It was a song,” he said Tuesday. “It wasn’t intended to be taken seriously and that’s essentially it.”

He added Rudderham even indicated on the site the song was meant to be sarcastic.

“I don’t think it meets the test of a Criminal Code threat. Whether or not the school authorities should be concerned and take their own discipline, that’s another matter.”

Rudderham has pleaded not guilty.