Cartoonish Signs Cause Terror Scare in Boston

On Wednesday, January 31, Boston authorities shut down bridges and a stretch of the Charles River, amid stirred fears of terrorism.^[1] Two men, who authorities say placed bomb-like electronic advertising devices around the city, were released from jail Thursday.^[2] Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens, were released on $2,500 cash bond after each pleaded not guilty to placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct for a device found Wednesday at a subway station. ^[3] The two men were video-taped dispersing the devices throughout Boston.

Officials found 38 blinking electronic signs on bridges and other high-profile spots across the city Wednesday, prompting the closing of a highway and the deployment of bomb squads. The electronic signs were part of a rebel marketing campaign to promote the late-night cartoon show Aqua Teen Hunger Force.^[4] The signs, depict the cartoon "moon men,” or "Mooninites" who are delinquent outer-space men who make frequent appearances on Aqua Teen Hunger Force.^[5] The surreal series is about the adventures of a talking milkshake, a box of French fries and a meatball.^[6]

Judge Paul K. Leary said the suspects must intend to create a panic to be charged with placing hoax devices, and it appears the suspects had no such intent, however the question will be discussed in a later hearing.^[7] Assistant Attorney General John Grossman disagreed, saying, “[i]t’s clear the intent was to get attention by causing fear and unrest that there was a bomb in that location.”^[8] The 1-foot tall signs, which were lit up at night, resembled a circuit board, with protruding wires and batteries. Most of the signs depicted a boxy, pixilated, cartoon character who was giving passersby the finger — a much more obvious sight when seen after dark.^[9]

“The appearance of this device and its location are crucial…… [t]his device looks like a bomb,” asserted Grossman, about the mechanism found at Sullivan Station underneath Interstate 93, which he said looked like it was a C-4 explosive.^[10] Other observers weren’t so sure, "[i]t's so not threatening (sic) -- it's a Lite Brite," said Todd Venderlin, a design student at the Parsons School of Design in New York City.^[11] It appears Venderlin is in the majority, the devices have been in place for two or three weeks in Boston; New York City; Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.^[12] Most of these cities have removed the signs with no fuss whatsoever, only in Boston, did the light boards create such mass hysteria.^[13]

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^[1] Jay Lindsay, 2 Men Held Over Boston Scare Released on Bond, AP (MSNBC.com), February 01, 2007.
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id
^[5] Id.
^[6] Dan Lothian, et al, Two plead not guilty to Boston hoax charges ,CNN, February 01, 2007.
^[7] Id.
^[8] Id
^[9] Id.
^[10] Lindsay, supra note 1.
^[11] Lothain, supra note 5
^[12] Id.