Kiwi guilty of threatening FBI’s Comey
ROTORUA: A Rotorua man who went on an online ‘‘rant’’ threatening a visiting FBI director has been sentenced to 180 hours of community work.
Frank Stewart McLean (32), appeared in the Rotorua District Court yesterday for sentencing after pleading guilty to making a false statement.
McLean threatened the life of then FBI director James Comey while he was visiting New Zealand in April. The threats forced the evacuation of the United States Embassy in Wellington.
US President Donald Trump later fired Comey for unrelated matters.
Using his online name of Oryan McLean, the defendant made threats between April 21 and 25, including posting messages to the US Embassy’s Facebook page.
In it, he said: ‘‘Please inform your FBI director here in NZ that his life is in danger and he will not leave this country alive.
‘‘Must suck because you know that police can’t do anything to me here,’’ he wrote.
He also said: ‘‘There is a bomb at your Embassy’’ and ‘‘Another bomb will go off soon evacuate the Embassy and f*** off or die.’’
McLean also posted numerous Facebook messages to the United States Embassy’s Facebook page and posted a message to the New Zealand Police Facebook page.
He also sent ‘‘extremely concerning’’ emails to the Government Communications Security Bureau, National Cyber Security Centre, Inspector General of Intelligence and Security and MP Chris Finlayson.
Judge Kim Saunders told McLean freedom of speech was an important right that must be protected, but he could not behave in this way especially given recent events in the United Kingdom.
She said McLean went on a social media ‘‘rant’’ and expressed extremely strong views about the US being the No 1 terrorist nation.
She said his ‘‘appalling comments’’ clearly crossed the boundaries and his posts online were considered real threats.
She said given the terror attacks in the UK in recent weeks, comments like this could not be viewed in isolation anymore.
‘‘I am not for one minute suggesting you are responsible for that but there is a big picture here.’’
Judge Saunders acknowledged a request from McLean’s lawyer, ErinReilly, that he be sentenced to community work given his remorse.
She said she imposed a communitybased sentence in the hope it would help rehabilitate him.
The judge ordered McLean be subject to supervision for 12 months and undertake drug and alcohol counselling, and any other counselling his probation officer directs. McLean was also sentenced to 140 hours of community work on the charge of making a false statement.
His court fines of $4844 were wiped and replaced with a further 40 hours’ community work, which was to be served accumulatively.
McLean had said headlines in the media about the US Government had tipped him over the edge and what he said was ‘‘stupid’’ and out of ‘‘pure frustration’’. —NZME