Birmingham Man Sentenced To One Year In Prison For Tweeting Threat Against President

HUNTSVILLE – U.S. District Judge C. Lynwood Smith Jr. today sentenced a Birmingham man to one year in prison for threatening the life of President Barack Obama on the social network Twitter, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and U.S. Secret Service Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Anderson.

JARVIS BRITTON, 26, pleaded guilty in March to tweeting threats against the president in September. Judge Smith had ruled in February that Britton was competent to stand trial. After Britton completes his prison term, he must serve three years of supervised release.

A federal grand jury indicted Britton in September for knowingly threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict bodily harm on the president by tweeting the message, "Let's kill the president. F.E.A.R.," on Sept. 14.

The Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph P. Montminy and Daniel J. Fortune prosecuted the case.