Though such data requests from WhatsApp are common, it’s less common to see a government investigator actively try to move a target to the platform.
They did not ask for message content, which is protected by end-to-end encryption and is impossible to retrieve from WhatsApp servers. The investigators wanted IP addresses and any account activity WhatsApp could provide.
Meanwhile, the AFOSI agent had sent a request to Facebook-owned WhatsApp to preserve data related to the suspect’s account. (The suspect, Christopher De Leon Guerrero, has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.) When questioned, he said he was planning to have sex with Em, though felt she was the one pushing him in that direction. He was caught with both, after the meeting was set up, and the sting primed, investigators claimed. Age is just a number except by the law.” The agent then gave Forsei his mobile number, “in an attempt to move the conversation to WhatsApp and to collect information on Forsei’s true identity.” As the conversation continued there, Forsei expressed his desire to have sex with Em, and said he’d bring condoms and takeaway chicken to her house in Guam, according to the warrant. Investigators claimed that another user, going by the name Forsei responded to Em’s post, writing: “If you are underage it’s technically illegal of me to do so. Don’t message if you are going to me mean and tell me I’m to young.” The AFOSI agent running the persona had also given her a name, “Emmalee” or “Em,” and an age, 13. It read: “Parents are going out this weekend. The Storm_Ocean account, which remains active and was created in a joint operation between the FBI and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), made one post, the text layered over the body of a young woman, fully clothed and sat on a bed, obscuring her face with her phone.
If he's convicted, he could end up spending up to five years in prison and paying up to $250,000.It started in November 2020 with a fake profile on Whisper, a social networking app that encourages users to share secrets anonymously. " He even jokingly asked the other person: "the FBI will understand I was only reading for the pictures, right?" Authorities couldn't connect him with a terror group.įeds have charged Grimsley with "transmitting a threat to injure a person" as well as with cyberstalking. In it, he said he "yell(s) all the time about jihad" due to "too much CSGO and nasheeds. But they also found a Facebook conversation on his laptop that makes his true intentions unclear. Whisper CEO Michael Heyward denied those accusations.Ĭops found an AK-47, four 30-round magazines and about 340 rounds of ammo in a search of his home. It's worth noting, however, that a 2014 report by The Guardian accused the company of retaining posts and user information in a searchable database. The app is supposed to be completely anonymous, but you'll have to opt out of location services if you don't want it to receive your geographical coordinates - Grimsley might have left his active. After feds got his IP address from Whisper, they were able to get Time Warner Cable to match it with a name, a physical address and a phone number. It will only be the beginning, insha'Allah."Īuthorities were able to track Grimsley down and arrest him on the same day he posted by asking Whisper for his IP address and GPS coordinates. Say your dua (prayers), sleep, and watch the news tomorrow. "For too long the kuffar (non-Muslims) have spit in our faces and trampled our rights. Another user who asked for a clarification through private message contacted authorities after receiving his response: According to the feds' affidavit, Garrett Grimsley from Cary posted the words "Salam, some of you are alright, don't go to Cary tomorrow" written on a photo of a bearded man carrying a red flag with a black star in the center. A man from North Carolina was arrested by federal authorities shortly after he submitted a post that sounded like a threat to the anonymous secret-sharing app Whisper.
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