‘Briana Boston should be free’: Briana Boston’s arrest highlights disturbing double standards in the justice system
Briana Boston, a mother of three with no criminal record, is facing up to 15 years in prison over a vague threat during a frustrated phone call, even though threats against women are rarely taken seriously or prosecuted.
Boston was arrested over a heated phone call on December 10 with a Blue Cross Blue Shield representative. She was frustrated after having her claims denied and stated, “Delay, deny, depose. You people are next.” The statement appears to be a reference to the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, as similar words were allegedly found engraved on the casings at the scene of the shooting. Following the incident, Boston spoke to police, where she admitted to making the statement and apologized. She explained she only made the statement because she had heard it on the news and was trying to convey her belief that karma would come for these companies.
It’s debatable whether her statement even constitutes a threat, as it was quite vague. Additionally, given that she cooperated with police and has no criminal record, most would agree there’s little chance she poses a threat to anyone. One could understand, perhaps, a misdemeanor charge or fine for harassment. However, the nation was shocked when Boston was arrested on severe charges of threats to commit terrorism and had her bond set at $100,000 as she faced possibly 15 years in prison.
Briana Boston’s arrest sparks outrage
As of the writing of this article, Boston is still facing charges and remains on house arrest. Her arrest, though, has sparked intense outrage across the internet as citizens push for the charges against her to be dropped. While Boston should be held accountable for her alleged threat, it’s quite clear that the charges do not match the crime. She is perplexingly being charged with threatening to “conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism.” The only part of her statement that might be perceived as threatening was, “You people are next.” However, that statement is incredibly vague and doesn’t explicitly demonstrate intent.
On social media, users quickly started spreading #FreeBrianaBoston. A GoFundMe for her legal expenses, set up by her husband, Daniel Boston, has already raised over $34,000 in donations. The major reason for the outrage is that this isn’t usually how death threats are handled by law enforcement. The incident has especially struck a chord with women because most of them have faced death threats from men before and had nothing done about it. Nowadays, a woman simply posting on TikTok or Tweet is enough to draw rape and death threats from men. Recently, a woman was inundated by death threats from right-wing men because she posted about earning her PhD. Yet, we don’t see the men who routinely threaten women online with death arrested for threatening terrorism and sitting in jail with $100,000 bonds.
Additionally, when women do seek help, they’re often told that law enforcement can’t do anything about a threat. Countless women have lost their lives because a judge decided to deny their restraining orders even after the women relayed the terrifying threats of death their stalkers or abusers made against them. Becky Bliefnick, Tirany Savage, Amber Rodriguez, and hundreds of other women share the same story. Some of these women spent years begging for protective orders and reporting their ex-partner’s abuse, threats, and stalking. However, law enforcement refused to act until the women and, in many cases, their children and entire families were killed.
Following the arrest of Boston, countless women want answers. They want to know why law enforcement tells them they can’t act when women are threatened or stalked but jump into action when a middle-aged mother of three makes a rude, vague statement on a phone call. On social media, many have declared, “Briana Boston should be free,” and slammed the double standard displayed through the case.
Boston should be held accountable for her actions, but she should receive a charge that fits the crime. If law enforcement is serious about charging her with domestic terrorism, then it better get to work because there’s an enormous backlog of men who have made far worse threats and are still awaiting their threats of terrorism charges and arrests on $100,000 bonds.
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