FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 4, 2001

SCHUMER ANNOUNCES BILL TO MAKE TERRORIST HOAXES A FEDERAL CRIME

Schumer: Terrorist Hoaxes Overburden Law Enforcement, Take Away
from Investigating Real Threats, Scare An Already Anxious Public

New Bipartisan Legislation To Impose Five Year Jail Sentence For Terrorist Hoaxes

US Senator Chuck Schumer today announced new legislation that will make terrorist hoaxes a federal crime. The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Schumer and Mike DeWine (R-OH), imposes prison sentences of up to 5 years for anyone who threatens or falsely reports a terrorist attack, as well as stiff monetary fines, and liability for all reimbursement costs resulting from the disruption caused by the terrorist hoax. Currently, there is no federal law dedicated to punishing terrorist hoaxes.

"Terrorist hoaxes are no laughing matter," Schumer said. "They take away from law enforcement's ability to investigate real terrorist threats, and that puts us all at risk. Our police officers and the FBI are already working around the clock to catch and arrest everyone involved in the September 11 attack and the perpetrators of the anthrax attacks. Wasting their valuable time and resources by committing terrorist hoaxes is essentially an extension of terrorism itself."

According to the FBI, in the first three weeks of October alone, the agency has responded to more than 3,300 cases relating to weapons of mass destruction, including 2,500 threat assessments involving suspected anthrax incidents. In the last month, the agency has resolved an additional 29,000 reports over the phone. In contrast, the FBI said they are typically involved in 250 assessments and responses a year. These cases typically break down into three categories: (1) False alarms, which are being reported across the country by people who have come across powdery substances in public places, airplanes, and in their mail; (2) Deliberate hoaxes, pranks and practical jokes; and (3) Actual cases of anthrax exposure. While many of these cases are legitimate false alarms and some have unfortunately been real, many also fall into the second category, wasting valuable law enforcement time and scarce resources and further frightening an already anxious public.

Recent examples in the metropolitan area include:

1. On October 26, a Staten Island man sent a threatening letter in a powder-laced envelop to his girlfriend. The perpetrator was subsequently arrested and now faces trial.
2. An apparent hoax diverted a Dallas-bound American Airlines flight from New York to D.C.'s Dulles Airport on October 29 after an threatening note was found on board. The passengers and flight crew were forced to evacuate on the runway.
3. Eight hundred employees at Connecticut's Department of Environmental Protection were kept out of work for two days after an October 11th anthrax hoax. Twelve employees underwent decontamination procedures, at an estimated cost of $40,000. According to the DEP, the costs of lost work were in the range of $1.5 million.
4. On October 21, an employee at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Riverhead threw a powdery substance onto a table at the Calvin Klein store, and then told co-workers that a man had done it before running out, forcing the evacuation of store and two adjoining stores.
5. A Fed Ex deliveryman was charged with pulling an anthrax hoax on a Levittown, LI woman on October 16. The woman found what proved to be a harmless white powder in a box decorated with a drawing of a devil and the words "USA" and "Satan." The Nassau County Police Department said it responded with two sergeants and five officers in five vehicles to

1. On October 17, a seventeen-year-old was charged with falsely reporting an incident after the juvenile brought an envelope with the words "Death to All Who Open This" and containing white, powdery material to Kingston High School. According to school officials, approximately 3,000 students and staff were held in lock-down for 90 minutes while some 50 local police, fire and emergency response personnel assessed the situation.

"Beyond the incredible waste of time and money caused by terrorist hoaxes, they scare people at the worst possible time," Schumer said. "New Yorkers are tough and New Yorkers are stoic, but most New Yorkers are also a little on edge. That's only natural. Exploiting our anxiety by committing a terrorist hoax isn't just a show of bad taste of bad judgment. It's sick. It mocks the loss of thousands of lives in the World Trade Center attacks and the people who have died from anthrax. But my guess is that scaring people through terrorist hoaxes won't seem so funny after spending five years in jail."

Schumer's bill, the Anti-Hoax Terrorism Act of 2001, would:

1. Impose sentences of up to five years in prison for those convicted of sending a hoax concerning a weapon of mass destruction or falsely reporting a weapon of mass destruction. This applies to bioterrorism, chemical or nuclear weapons, and incendiary explosives.
2. Hold offenders responsible for reimbursement for all expenses incurring resulting from the hoax. In many cases, these expenses can easily top $1 million.
3. Fine offenders . While the penalties would be determined by the judge in each individual case, fines of at least $10,000 would be common under this legislation.

Schumer was joined at the event by Sergeant Paul Englert, commanding officer of the Nassau Police Department's Emergency Services Unit, and Police Officer William Costigan of the Nassau Emergency Services Unit.

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