Secret Service involved in matter with Crosby High School student threatening President-elect Joe Biden
CROSBY, Texas (KTRK) -- ABC13 has learned the Secret Service is handling the matter involving a Crosby High School student who made a video threatening President-elect Joe Biden.
Over the weekend, a video surfaced of a teenager who displayed guns, and asked for his Trump supporters to meet up and "assassinate Joe Biden."
On Monday, Crosby ISD told ABC13 the teenager is a student at Crosby High School. They also added the student was cleared by the federal authorities.
District leaders also told us the student was kept home for safety reasons.
On Tuesday, we asked if the student is back in class. This was the district's response:
"Due to federal privacy laws, we would refer you to the student's parents for an answer to your question. As Crosby ISD is not involved in any part of this matter, we have no reason to provide any further comment on the situation other than what was provided yesterday."
Crosby ISD parents and neighbors aren't sure if the student should be allowed back.
"It's not like he threatened any students or anything like that," Crosby ISD parent Ashley Grantham said. "I think he was just all talk."
"If I had kids, I probably wouldn't be comfortable being in class with him the next day right after that," Crosby resident Genesis Vasquez said.
ABC13 was told the Secret Service is handling the matter. The agency, however, won't confirm an investigation is taking place in a statement sent by a Secret Service spokesperson.
"The Secret Service does not confirm or comment on the absence or existence of specific investigations The Secret Service can say that it investigates all threats against the President or any of our protectees," the statement read.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office said because the student is a minor, it's limited in what it can share. Officials say police investigated the matter, and determined no state charge is warranted.
Officials added the boy's parents voluntarily gave up weapons. If the student isn't charged, attorney Steve Shellist, who isn't involved in this case, said he'll be shocked.
"This is as clear cut of a case of a terroristic threat as I've ever seen," Shellist explained.
Shellist said even though the student is a minor, it doesn't mean he can't get in trouble.
"There are still crimes, and you can prosecute someone as a minor," Shellist explained. "It would just be handled in a different way."
Making a threat against a president-elect could land you five years behind bars. That's a punishment a Houston-area man knows too well.
According to federal documents, the man was charged a couple of weeks ago after tweets surfaced on his social media page.
"They say I quoted one of Donald Trump's tweets saying, 'You need a bullet in your head.' That's all I did," the man explained.
The family asked not to be identified. They can't believe the Crosby student isn't facing a similar charge.
"It's not fair at all," the man's mother said. "It's very disheartening. It's very... it's not fair."
The man charged with a crime said he had to post a bond and is now wearing an ankle monitor. If convicted, he faces five years behind bars.
"Just don't do it," he explained. "It's not worth it. It doesn't prove your point."
