Secret Service questions Elyria pet store worker over comment on Facebook
Filed by Brad Dicken January 20th, 2010
ELYRIA — A 19-year-old Lorain man drew the attention of the U.S. Secret Service on Tuesday for a comment he posted on the Facebook page of a local news blog.
Members of the Secret Service leave the West River Road Pet Supplies Plus on Tuesday. (CT photo by Bruce Bishop.)
Terry Costigan, who operates TMCNews, said he was called to the Elyria Police Department on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the comment.
Costigan said he doesn’t know the poster, who wasn’t charged, and was surprised when the two Secret Service agents questioned him about the post.
“Although I thought it was a stupid remark, I didn’t think it was a direct enough threat to take seriously,” he said.
The Secret Service agents apparently did.
“They said, ‘It’s an indirect threat, and we take those very seriously,’ ” Costigan said.
The Secret Service agents pulled up the man’s Facebook page and learned where he lived and worked, Costigan said.
They then called the man’s employer, Pet Supplies Plus in Elyria, to find out when the man started his shift, Costigan said.
The agents went to the store and met with the man, who returned to work after the agents left. The agents declined to comment, referring questions to a local field office. A call to the agent in charge wasn’t returned Tuesday.
The man questioned by the agents declined to comment, and a manager asked a reporter to leave the store.
Obama is scheduled to appear at Lorain County Community College on Friday for a town hall meeting with local workers, businessmen and leaders.
Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.
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