United States v. Pillault

Defendant-Appellant Joshua Pillault pled guilty to knowingly and willfully communicating a threat by means of the internet, an instrument of interstate and foreign commerce, concerning an attempt to kill and injure individuals and unlawfully damage and destroy buildings by means of fire and explosives. "Runescape" is an online fantasy role-playing game. Players can communicate with each other by typing comments, which appear above the players’ characters as well as in a chat box at the bottom of the screen. In response to provocative comments made by another player, Pillault stated that he was going to acquire guns, Molotov cocktails, and pipe bombs in order to reenact the Columbine school shooting at Oxford High School. Pillault threatened to “level [O]xford hi[g]h school” and turn it to “gravel.” Runescape's operator, and another player alerted the local authorities; the FBI obtained an arrest warrant and arrested Pillault in the home he shared with his mother. A search of Pillault's computer netted files pertaining to the creation of bombs, sawed-off shotguns, Molotov cocktails and other explosive devices; files entitled "columbine" and "serialkiller," and web searches indicating Pillault had been looking at other online games that recreated the Columbine Massacre. At sentencing, the district court imposed a six-level enhancement for conduct evidencing an intent to carry out the threat. The district court upwardly varied from the Sentencing Guidelines and sentenced Pillault to seventy-two months imprisonment. Pillault appealed his sentence, challenging the district court’s application of the enhancement, as well as the reasonableness of the sentence. Finding no abuse of discretion, the Fifth Circuit affirmed. View "United States v. Pillault" on Justia Law