Kentucky?s Lex 18 news site reports that an 18-year-old high-school student is facing terrorist threat charges because of a zombie story he wrote for his English class. William Poole, an 18-year-old student at George Rogers Clark High School, was arrested after his grandparents found the tale, in which the undead attack a high school, in his journal and turned it over to police. I?ve been working on one of my short stories, [and] the short story they found was about zombies, Poole told Lex 18. Yes, it did say a high school. It was about a high school overrun by zombies.

Despite the obviously fantastical nature of his writing, and the fact that neither his own school nor any real people, school officials or police were mentioned in the story, Poole was taken into custody on a second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. Anytime you make any threat or possess matter involving a school or function, it?s a felony in the state of Kentucky, Winchester Police detective Steven Caudill told Lex 18. A judge even raised Poole?s bond from $1,000 to $5,000 at the prosecutors? request, due to the "seriousness" of the charges. Poole is currently being held at the Clark County Detention Center.

Winchester, KY (AP) -- An 18-year-old high school student accused of terroristic threatening after writing a story about a high school takeover was released from jail on bond.
William Poole's arrest sparked a controversy over free speech. Jeffrey Russell of Louisville, who said he was acting on behalf of a friend in California who has taken an interest in the case, paid the $5,000 cash bond for Poole on Saturday.
The friend belongs to an organization concerned about civil liberties issues. Russell declined to name the friend or the group. He said he did not know Poole before getting him out of jail.
Russell said he thinks the matter stemmed from a dispute over money between Poole and his grandmother.
Poole was arrested in February after his grandmother phoned police, concerned about a story he had written about a violent takeover at an unidentified high school. Authorities said he had made threats against students, teachers and police.
Poole told a reporter that he had simply written a fictional story about zombies. After that account was posted online, people began sending dozens of e-mails accusing Clark police, court and school officials of violating Poole's First Amendment rights. Twenty people have joined an online group called "Free William Poole."
Winchester police Detective Steven Caudill testified at a court hearing that Poole had tried to recruit classmates at George Rogers Clark High School to join him in a military organization called No Limited Soldiers.
District Judge Brandy O. Brown, who put the writings under seal, told Poole earlier this month that, if he made bond, he should not go near the school or contact the people mentioned in the papers.