Man convicted of using animated GIF as a “deadly weapon”

ByCraig Haley

When we think of the term “deadly weapon”, we may think of a gun, a knife, a vehicle, lead piping or perhaps any sort of heavy blunt object.

What we don’t think of is an animated GIF image.

A GIF image is a type of digital image that – unlike JPG or Bitmap images – can contain multiple frames that appear one after another to create an animated or video effect. They’re probably most encountered on forum websites as members often use them as avatars.

And last week a jury in Texas determined that a GIF image can be classed an a deadly weapon in a case that involved a defendant sending a journalist suffering from epilepsy a flashing GIF specifically designed to cause a seizure.

In what is the first case of its kind, defendant John Rayne Rivello was arrested in March for an image he sent journalist Kurt Eichenwald during December 2016 through Twitter that contained a strobe lighting effect that resulted in Eichenwald suffering an 8 minute epileptic fit.


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The image sent through Twitter also contained the statement “YOU DESERVE A SEIZURE FOR YOUR POSTS“.

Rivello – using the jew_golstein Twitter handle that has now been suspended by Twitter – is facing one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a charge that can contain an extended sentence as it is also being considered a hate crime since prosecutors claim Eichenwald was chosen because Rivello had a bias against people of Jewish descent.

Shortly after Rivello sent the offending tweet, Eichenwald’s account tweeted the following message –

An investigation into Rivello’s computer and storage accounts revealed information pertaining to epilepsy, including information about seizure triggers on epilepsy.com.

Timothy Perkins, Eichenwald’s attorney, said “We consider the message like a bomb or sending anthrax to someone in the mail.”

Further reading –
Assault charge filed after tweet sent to journalist with epilepsy – CNN