Texas Man Sends Racist Threat to High School Students, Gets Indicted

I have to be honest, y’all. As soon as I saw the mugshot for Kenneth Petersen (above) I just knew, in my heart of hearts, that this dude has probably called someone the N-word on Call of Duty. I just know it.

Courier Post reports that last week the Burlington County Prosecutor’s office has indicted Petersen on charges of bias intimidation. Burlington County, it should be noted, is in New Jersey. Petersen lives in Texas. The charges come following an investigation that started in May 2018. A student at Northern Burlington County Regional High School had created a group chat to discuss senior pranks with her peers in the app GroupMe. She received an anonymous message saying “all the black people at the school,” should be shot. The student reported it to her teacher, the police were notified and an investigation ensued.

The investigation brought in the Mansfield Township Police Department, New Jersey State Police, the Tarleton State University Police and the goddamn Federal Bureau of Investigation. The parties involved would find that Petersen, who was attending college in Texas at the time, sent the message. There is no clear indication on why exactly he targeted that specific group. Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina had this to say:

“There can never be any tolerance for racially-motivated threats like this and especially during recent times when we have seen threats escalate to actual acts of violence, law enforcement must respond with the utmost seriousness. You cannot hide behind a cell phone halfway across the country while spewing such hatred.” 

What a weird way to be racist on the internet. Why harass a group of high school students just looking to make a fun prank? What was the goal here? To be edgy? Sorry for all the questions but your boy needs answers. I thought most of this dude’s ilk were content just being white and aggrieved on 4Chan or in the comments section of The Root. This is a new one. What’s even weirder is that he just sent it to a random group of high school students all the way across the country. Imagine being a grown ass man in college and spending your time trolling high school students in another state. Couldn’t be me, that’s for sure.

I guess if there’s lesson to be learned here is don’t be a racist troll on the internet. It just might get you indicted.