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SALT LAKE CITY — The FBI wants to remind the public that airport security is no joking matter.
The warning comes as the FBI announced Thursday that a Wyoming boy is facing a charge in 3rd District Juvenile Court of making a threat of terrorism after allegedly posting on social media that a bomb was on a plane flying out of the Salt Lake City International Airport.
On March 22, the FBI received information about an online post with a photo taken on an airplane in Salt Lake City with the caption, 'Bomb has been planted,'" according to a statement from the FBI's Salt Lake City field office.
The threat was determined to be a hoax and the flight was not disrupted.
However, when the boy returned to Salt Lake City on March 31, members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force were waiting for him and arrested him, according to the FBI.
Additional information about the boy, including his age or if he was traveling with his family, was not released.
The FBI, however, did issue a warning on Thursday that hoax threats, even if they are meant to be funny, are never appropriate.
"Issuing a threat, even over social media, via text message, or through email, is taken very seriously and can have devastating consequences for both the public and for the perpetrators," the FBI said. "Hoax threats are not a joke, so think before you post!"
The FBI encourages parents to talk to their children about making inappropriate social media posts. They also say the public should remember that if they see something, they should say something.
