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TV star calls cops over Twitter death threats

At the urging of her followers, Emily Atack alerted authorities over threatening tweets directed at her family. 

 

Kris Holt

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Posted on Nov 16, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 7:13 am CDT

Emily Atack, star of U.K. TV show The Inbetweeners, called in police this week over Twitter death threats.

The actor grew concerned over tweets sent by the anonymous user behind the now-suspended account @jeffjon56599388. The graphic tweets, available to view on social-media search engine Topsy, started Monday.

One tweet read “visit yr family now…tell them goodbye! it’ll be yr last chance to do so!!!!!!!” Others threatened Atack with sexual violence and torture.

Atack, 22, alerted police after urging her followers to report him. She commented she’d “never read/seen anything so vicious towards me in my whole life” and suggested the anonymous user would soon find him or herself in prison.

Many of Atack’s more than 87,500 other followers offered support, and she thanked them in a tweet Friday morning.

Several Brits faced legal proceedings this year over abusive or threatening tweets sent to celebrities. Student Liam Stacey was jailed after posting racially charged tweets about a soccer player who collapsed during a game. Others were arrested after sharing a homophobic remark and threats regarding diver Tom Daley, though both of those cases were dropped.

Photo via watchsparkle/YouTube

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*First Published: Nov 16, 2012, 5:11 pm CST