A 17-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday after he made threats online against the White House and President Obama, authorities said.
A Hackensack teen was accused of making threats against the White House and President Obama, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said. (Andrew Mills/NJ Advance Media) HACKENSACK - A 17-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday after he made threats online against the White House and President Obama, authorities said.
The Hackensack teen also made "threatening references to being involved in an attack at the 9/11 memorial, and to having 'friends' in ISIS who were planning to attack New York City," according to Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli.
The threatening messages were sent "via various forms of electronic media," prosecutor's office spokeswoman Maureen Parenta said.
"The defendant is no longer considered a threat," the spokeswoman said.
Authorities arrested the boy without incident and served a search warrant at his home, the prosecutor said in a statement.
Molinelli said a separate investigation launched by police in New Albany, Indiana, identified the boy as a suspect in several swatting hoaxes in their jurisdiction. Police, the prosecutor said, traced the threats to the boy's home.
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More charges were possible as computer crimes detectives analyzed electronic devices seized at the teen's residence, according to Molinelli. New Albany authorities were also expected to file charges in the swatting cases.
The boy's name was not released because of his age. He was charged with juvenile offenses of making terroristic threats.
Molinelli said the boy was turned over to his mother after the arrest.
Investigators with the United States Secret Service and FBI assisted county detectives in the probe, Molinelli added.
Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
