A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.

17 February 2015

The unfolding story of David Lenio's arrest

Updated. A Kalispell man, David Joseph Lenio, was arrested on 16 February and charged with malicious intimidation for allegedly making online “generic” threats of violence against local schools. Reports the Flathead Beacon:

The Kalispell Police Department received information at about 11 p.m. on Feb. 15 about “generic threats of violent” directed towards schools via social media.

Although the information posted did not mention specific schools, times, or locations, schools were notified about the threats as a safety precaution, Nasset said.

My initial reaction, reinforced by a 30 December 2014 Tweet that Lenio may have posted, was that the authorities were over-reacting. But a report published today by the Southern Poverty Law Center says there may be many more Tweets involved, and that some are thought to be worded more ominously than the Tweet I found:

Jon Hutson of the Brady Center thinks the Lenio Tweet I found and the Lenio Tweets he found are by different Lenios. That’s possible. It’s also possible there are many more Lenio Tweets and comments on websites yet to be found.

Update. Hutson says the 30 December 2014 Tweet was posted by a woman in Sacramento. That does not rule out her knowing Lenio, but it does seem to rule out the Tweet’s being Lenio’s.

Did Hutson prevent a school massacre? According to the SPLC, he believes he did:

Asked if he believed his actions may have averted a tragedy, Hutson was modest in his reply. “I think if you see something, say something. The swift action of law enforcement definitely averted a Sandy Hook-style tragedy.”

Definitely? No. Possibly? Yes. Probably? It’s too early to know — and because no massacre occurred, no one will ever know for sure.