A 20-year-old college student who told investigators he was merely trying to get a reaction from President Barack Obama's supporters pleaded guilty Wednesday to posting threatening messages against the president on Facebook. Joaquin Amador Serrapio Jr. could get up to five years in federal prison for pleading guilty to a single count of threatening to kill or harm the president, but likely will get less time, said his attorney Alan Ross. Sentencing is set for Aug. 22 before U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke. There's no evidence that Serrapio intended to carry out any threat against the president and Obama was never in any danger, investigators said. "He wanted to get a reaction from political supporters of President Obama," Ross said. Serrapio is a music business ... Continue reading →
Curt Anderson The Associated Press MIAMI—Cincinnati Reds reliever Aroldis Chapman is being sued for $18 million by a Cuban-American man who blames Chapman for his imprisonment on the communist island. The lawsuit, filed last week in Miami federal court, claims that Chapman falsely accused Danilo Curbelo Garcia of involvement in human trafficking, leading to his 2008 arrest and conviction in Cuba. Curbelo Garcia is serving a 10-year sentence. Chapman defected in 2009 in the Netherlands and was signed a year later by the Reds to a six-year, $30.25 million contract. The lawsuit claims Chapman accused Curbelo Garcia to win favour with the Cuban government so he could rejoin its national baseball team and eventually travel overseas to stage his escape. Chapman had been suspended from ... Continue reading →