Journalist Kurt Eichenwald sent out a series of tweets on Friday that claim FBI agents arrested a man who allegedly sent him a strobe light .gif over twitter that triggered his epilepsy and caused him to suffer a seizure. Eichenwald also said the he received more than 40 similar .gifs from twitter users after they learned they may cause him to suffer seizures and he provided all the information about those individuals he could to the FBI for further investigation.
After a 3 month investigation, the FBI this morning arrested the man who assaulted me using a strobe on twitter that triggered a seizure.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) March 17, 2017
According to the tweets, the FBI began its investigation approximately three months ago after a twitter user sent him a strobe light .gif that caused him to suffer a seizure. Eichenwald said the arrest was made this morning on federal charges and suggested additional charges may be filed in the near future.
Identifying information about every person who sent me strobes after finding out about the assault is currently in the hands of the FBI.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) March 17, 2017
Eichenwald sent out a tweet in December accusing a twitter user under the name of “@jew_goldstein” of sending him the .gif image that allegedly caused the seizure.
LawNewz reached out to both the FBI and Eichenwald to obtain additional information about the claims and we will update this story as the information becomes available.
2:30 PM Update:
LawNewz briefly spoke with Eichenwald’s attorney, Steve Lieberman with the Rothwell Figg law firm. Lieberman confirmed that an arrest was made by FBI agents on the Maryland shore Friday morning before 7:00 AM EDT and is currently appearing in federal court in Baltimore to answer a complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
It is his understanding that the man arrested was responsible for sending a strobe light .gif to Eichenwald over twitter and that .gif caused Eichenwald to suffer a seizure on December 15, 2016 at around 10:15 PM CST. According to Lieberman, the .gif caused Eichenwald to suffer a seizure that caused a “very, very severe reaction” and that his client was disabled for several days. Lieberman says they have not ruled out any additional action against the individual responsible for for sending the tweet, including the possibility of filing a civil lawsuit. Additionally, the Dallas District Attorney’s Office may file separate state charges against the man at a future date.
2:55 PM Update:
An FBI spokesperson confirmed to LawNewz that an arrest was made by FBI agents this morning related to Eichenwald’s complaint.
[image via screengrab]
