Twitter Bomb Joker Convicted

A British court has convicted Paul Chambers, 26, of sending a menacing Twitter message and fined him 1000 pounds ($1500).

On January 6, according to The Register, the closure of an airport in South Yorkshire due to poor weather prompted Chambers to tweet, "Crap! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your s*** together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!"

Airport officials reportedly saw the tweet and then complained to local police.
Chambers subsequently lost his job as a consequence of the tweet, according to The Daily Mail, which states that the ruling is believed to be the first time a person has been convicted of a crime for a Twitter post.

Though Chambers insisted the tweet was a joke, the Doncaster Magistrates' Court found him guilty of sending a threatening electronic message and imposed a fine.

:story: Full story: InformationWeek