By Jon Fingas, Engadget
Internet domains are becoming increasingly desirable,
especially as the web becomes crowded and it becomes harder to find
memorable addresses. However, one man unfortunately took this to a
violent extreme. Iowa resident Sherman Hopkins Jr. has been sentenced
to 20 years in federal prison for attempting to steal control of
doitforstate.com (which doesn't currently point anywhere) in an armed
robbery.
Hopkins pleaded guilty to invading a home in June 2017
and demanding that the victim (Ethan Deyo) transfer the domain through
GoDaddy while pointing a pistol at his head. When Deyo asked for the
mailing address and phone number he needed to complete the domain,
Hopkins pistol-whipped and tased him several times. Deyo managed to get
control of the gun and shoot Hopkins, but only after Hopkins had shot
him in the leg.
While it's unclear exactly why Hopkins was willing to turn to violence, the domain was potentially useful. As Motherboard noted,
it's a reference to a meme emerging from Iowa State University where
you were supposed to shout "do it for State" while watching students do
things they'd invariably regret. The site had been used up until a month
after the incident. At first glance, it looks like Hopkins was
determined to ride that bandwagon without paying Deyo, and didn't stop
to think about what a forceful domain transfer would involve.
Thankfully, that's why this sort of case is likely to remain rare going
forward. Few people are so desperate for a domain that they're willing
to threaten someone's life, and the record keeping is going to deter
anyone who knows how domain transfers work.
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