Two Baltimore men from a radical anti-government group are planning to blow up the federal courthouse in Baltimore next month, an informant told the FBI.
And a class of high schoolers must solve the case.
In less than an hour, the Meade High School students figured out how to obtain the necessary evidence to lock up William and Mike Thurmont — with the help of FBI Special Agent Greg Timberlake.
“One of them was in the Army, so we need to look up his military records,” said Larry Lowery, a 14-year-old freshman, who then learned that William was a demolition expert during the classroom exercise.
The fictional Thurmonts and their plot helped the students experience the requirements of a potential job in the Homeland Security Department.
“You’re going to need security clearances, so these kids have to learn you can’t go around and do stupid things,” Timberlake, who works out of the FBI’s Baltimore field office, said after he and students laid out the facts on an overhead projector and solved the case.
“It also helps to do well in English, because believe it or not, bad grammar can hurt your credibility.”
The bomb case was a teaching tool for students in Meade High’s Homeland Security Signature Program, a curriculum aimed at giving students an edge in degrees and careers that require science and technology skills as well as security clearances.
The program is only offered at Meade High, which is on Fort Meade grounds in Odenton in Anne Arundel. In the next three years, the fort and its major tenant, the National Security Agency, are expected to have 10,000 new jobs requiring the technical experience the program’s teachers hope will start at Meade High.
“Our goal is by their senior year, the students will be able to have internships with government contractors,” said Tina Edler, the program’s head instructor.
In the program’s first year, students have visited the Pentagon and heard the experiences of retired federal law enforcement officials and security industry officials.
Timberlake said he came to Meade High on the request of Col. Daniel Thomas, commander of Fort Meade and supporter of the Homeland Security program.
The FBI doesn’t usually recruit at high schools, as potential agents first need a college degree, Timberlake said.
Some students were surprised to learn the government can access cell phone bill records to find out who they’ve called and text messaged, and what those messages said. But most were aware of their Fourth Amendment right against illegal search and seizure.
After going through mock phone records and filing subpoenas, the students found enough evidence against the Thurmonts — mostly through Timberlake’s coaxing — to bring the case before a grand jury.
“This is nothing like ‘CSI’,” said 14-year-old Tim McClung, a Meade freshman. “I don’t know if this is something I’d want to do when I get out of college, but at least I got to see how the FBI really works.”
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