Secret Service Questions Middle School Boy Without Parental Consent

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.

One Man’s Sign Affects Two of His Civil Rights

According to Bridget Nash of the Enid News and Eagle, Chip Harrison, an Oklahoma City man, was driving on the interstate with a sign in his window. The sign read, “Abort Obama, not the unborn.” The man was pulled over by an Oklahoma City police officer who confiscated the sign. The sign was later returned by the police department, but the Secret Service later visited the man’s house and asked to conduct an informal search. The Secret Service walked through Harrison’s house to determine if Harrison was a threat.

Harrison was unwise in the way he worded his sign, but government overreaction over Chip Harrison’s sign lead to infringements on his First and Fourth Amendment rights. Harrison did get his sign back, and he voluntarily allowed the Secret Service to search his house, but this event should be a warning to all that the reach of government is extensive. Who knows what might have happened to Harrison had he not cooperated with the police and Secret Service. Harrison probably has his own special Secret Service file now, but things could have been much worse for him if he had tried to stand up for his freedom of speech and his right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

Enid News and Eagle Article
"OKC Officer Pulls Man over for Anti-Obama Sign on Vehicle"