Jury Convicts Pittsburgh Man Accused Of Threatening FBI Agents On Twitter
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A Pittsburgh man accused of threatening FBI agents was convicted by a federal jury.
The jury deliberated for three hours after a trial that lasted about two weeks and found 28-year-old Khaled Miah guilty on multiple charges, including five counts of making interstate threatening communications and one count of destruction of records.
Miah, a former Pitt student, was accused of using a Twitter account to threaten, intimidate and harass FBI Pittsburgh agents and the FBI. Then, knowing he was under investigation, prosecutors said he deleted the posts.
One message referred to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, investigators said. It allegedly said, "Currently eating pasta and watching videos of the second plane hit the South Tower." Another message allegedly said, "The zero hour is approaching."
Investigators also said Miah spent time in Washington D.C. driving around looking at major landmarks and in Boston at places where the bombing happened during the marathon.
During an interview, investigators said "an associate" of Miah's talked about him being "mentally unstable and attracted to a violent Islamic ideology."
Sentencing is set for April 21. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.