A 19-year-old Chicagoan was arrested and charged with making a threatening post about an abortion clinic on a meme sharing platform.
Farhan Sheikh was charged in federal court Monday with one count of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce after investigators said he threatened to “slaughter and murder” visitors, patients, and doctors at an abortion clinic a few miles from his home. According to the affidavit in the case, Sheikh made the threatening post last week on the social media platform iFunny.
“I am done with my state and thier [sic] bullshit abortion laws and allowing innocrnt [sic] kids to be slaughtered for the so called ‘womans right’ bullshit,” Sheikh allegedly wrote. “Ive seen nothing but whores go out of the way to get an abortion, but no more. I will not tolerate this anymore. Im DONE.
“On August 23rd 2019, I will go to the [Victim A] in Chicago on [Street A]. I will proceed to slaughter and murder any doctor, patient, or visitor i see in the area and I will not back down. consider this a warning for anyone visiting,” he added.
He also allegedly threatened undercover agents that might be scouring the website, writing, “To all the fbi agents in this app, I am NOT a satirical account. I post what I mean, and i WILL carry out what I post.”
In one post, Sheikh is alleged to have referenced the iFunny username of 18-year-old Justin Olsen of Ohio, who was recently arrested for also posting threatening communications toward Planned Parenthood clinics and federal agents over the iFunny platform. He claimed that the threats were a joke, although FBI agents found over 15 firearms, including AR-15s, and over 13,000 rounds of ammunition during a search of his home.
Sheikh had allegedly posted his Twitter handle at one point on the iFunny website. Investigators also found Instagram and Facebook accounts they said are believed to be linked to him. From there, they were able to track down phone numbers and email addresses tied to Sheikh.
Like Olsen, Sheikh claimed that he wasn’t serious about his threats. After being questioned about the post, Sheikh said he had just chosen a random date and random clinic when crafting the statement.
“When Sheikh was asked why he thought that the FBI was at his residence, he responded that he believed it was due to a ‘joke’ that he posted on iFunny,” the affidavit read.
If convicted, Sheikh could face up to five years in prison.
