Timi Robertson of Tacoma, Washington is upset because the Secret Service went to her seventh grade son's school, Truman Middle School, and questioned him without her permission. Thirteen-year-old, Vito LaPinta, claims to have posted on his Facebook site something to the effect that Osama bin Laden was dead and Obama needs to be careful because there could be suicide bombers.
Children, especially younger boys, often have difficulty expressing themselves clearly. It is possible that Vito LaPinta may have phrased his statement awkwardly, and the odd wording is what alarmed the Secret Service, but that does not really matter. Perhaps, Vito LaPinta actually said something threatening.
The problem here is that the Secret Service is going into a child's school, having him pulled out of class, and questioning him without a parent's permission or presence. Why did the Secret Service not just wait a few hours and approach the boy at home? Were they worried the child was going to launch an attack that day? No. The Secret Service approached the boy at school, because they knew they could get away with it there. If they would have gone to the boy's house, his parents would have had an opportunity to refuse questioning and hire a lawyer.
If this situation seems to familiar to you, that probably means you have read about the Gestapo during Germany's Nazi era. The Gestapo was known for questioning people in unexpected situations and questioning children without parental consent. Now, the Secret Service is not the Gestapo, but whatever similarities exist should be noted.
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