Miami teen charged after allegedly making bomb threats on Instagram says it was all a "joke"
MIAMI - An 18-year-old honors student at Florida International University, charged with terrorism-related offenses for allegedly posting bomb threats on social media, claimed Monday that his Instagram posts were intended as a "joke."
"It was a joke, it was supposed to be a joke, but it got taken to something literal," Rolando Hernandez-Padron told CBS News Miami upon his release on bail from Miami-Dade County jail on Monday evening.
Ronaldo Hernandez-Padron, a graduate of South Miami High School, was arrested on Jan. 4 after the FBI received a tip about concerning posts from an Instagram account with the handle "JurassicParkLover2006."
According to investigators, the posts included statements such as "Bad things are going to happen" and "Bombing a house today."
Instagram flagged the posts and provided information linking the account to Hernandez-Padron, including his residential address and date of birth.
Hernandez-Padron could face up to 15 years in prison
On Saturday, FBI agents and a Miami-Dade police detective located Hernandez-Padron at his home, where he was taken into custody and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Hernandez-Padron was charged with making written threats to commit a mass shooting or terrorism. In Florida, this is classified as a second-degree felony and carries a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
In court on Monday, Hernandez-Padron's attorney argued that the posts, made on a private Instagram story, were intended as a joke and not meant to be taken seriously.
The teen expressed remorse for his actions, "I think the best thing you can do is learn from it and just not repeat it and not let it repeat and learn from the mistake that you made."
Hernandez-Padron said he will "never" make a joke that like again.
Student reactions at Florida International University
FIU students had mixed reactions on the arrest, which comes on the heels of a domestic terrorist attack in New Orleans where a man drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more.
"There's so many cases of school shooters doing the same thing, so he brought it on himself," said Zairion Palmer. "He's an adult, he knew better."
Another student, Breno Albas, said, "The internet is a very open door to a person's thoughts and if their thoughts are about blowing up a house or doing dangerous stuff, it should be taken into account."
