UNITED STATES ATTORNEY ALICE H. MARTIN NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE			CONTACT: KAREN NARAMORE
	FEBRUARY 26, 2009			PHONE: (205) 244-2001
	www.usdoj.gov/usao/aln			FAX: (205) 244-2171

MADISON COUNTY MAN INDICTED FOR MAKING
FALSE STATEMENTS ABOUT THREATENING
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

            BIRMINGHAM, AL - United States Attorney Alice H. Martin of the Northern District of Alabama and Christopher Murphy, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, announced today that CHARLES THURMAN has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Making a False Statements to Law Enforcement.

            THURMAN, 54, of Huntsville, Alabama was charged in a three-count indictment filed today at U. S. District Court in Birmingham.

            Counts 1, 2 and 3 of the Indictment charges that THURMAN sent an email to the White House stating that an individual threatened to kill the President of the United States while knowing this information was not true.

            The maximum sentence for making a false statement is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

            “Although it was determined that the stated threat did not place the President of the United States in imminent danger, the time and effort spent to investigate the allegations took agents away from their duties to spend time following a lead that proved to be false,” stated U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin.  “Sending federal officers to chase down false leads keeps them from performing their jobs and protecting the President.  This will not be tolerated.”

            Special Agents of the Secret Service worked this case, with some assistance from the United States Marshal’s Service, Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the Huntsville Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Angela Redmond Debro is prosecuting this case.

            Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only charges.  A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

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