- 03.17.17
The FBI has arrested a man over a seizure-inducing tweet
If you think anonymity protects you from everything you do on Twitter, think again. Today, the FBI confirmed that it has arrested a man who sent a GIF to Newsweek journalist Kurt Eichenwald via a direct message on Twitter. The GIF was a strobe meant to trigger a seizure. Eichenwald, who suffers from epilepsy, says it worked.
After a 3 month investigation, the FBI this morning arrested the man who assaulted me using a strobe on twitter that triggered a seizure.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) March 17, 2017
Eichenwald’s lawyers originally attempted to force Twitter to reveal the identity of the person who sent the tweet, but ultimately they were able to identify the sender through other means. The tweet sender is now facing federal charges. More than 40 people reportedly sent GIFs to Eichenwald after discovering they could cause seizures. Information about all of those individuals is reportedly now in the hands of the FBI.
