A Texas teen who 's been jailed more than four months for a Facebook comment he made during a video-game argument is finally getting a day in court that could let him go home . Justin Carter , who was 18 when he was arrested , will appear in Comal County ( Texas ) District Court on Tuesday , July 16 , for a bond hearing , according to his lawyer , Don Flanary . Flanary told CNN he will argue to have Carter 's $ 500,000 bond , which his family can not afford to cover , reduced . Flanary , who is working the case for free , met with Carter for the first time on Tuesday . He said Carter is not doing well , and his family says he has been placed on suicide watch . `` Justin is in bad shape and has suffered quite a bit of abuse while in jail , '' Flanary said in an e-mail . `` We will likely bring out these issues at the bond hearing . '' He did not elaborate on the type of abuse claimed by Carter , who is now 19 . In February , Carter and a friend were arguing on Facebook with someone else over the online video game `` League of Legends . '' His father told CNN that the other gamer called Justin crazy and his son responded with sarcasm . According to court documents , Justin wrote , `` I 'm f***ed in the head alright . I think I'ma ( sic ) shoot up a kindergarten and watch the blood of the innocent rain down and eat the beating heart of one of them . '' Jack Carter said his son followed the claim with `` LOL '' and `` J/K '' -- indicating that the comment was n't serious . Authorities say someone reported the comment -- which came about two months after the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut -- and Justin Carter was arrested February 21 on a charge of making terroristic threats . In Texas , that 's a felony that carries a sentence of up to eight years in prison . Police originally thought Carter lived with his father in Austin , Texas , at a home the arrest report says is 100 yards from a school . They later learned he was living in New Braunfels , between Austin and San Antonio . The Austin Police Department declined to provide CNN with additional documents related to the case . The Comal County District Attorney 's office , which is prosecuting the case , did not immediately respond to a request for comment . Carter 's case has stirred support online . A Change.org petition by his mother , calling for his release , had received more than 43,000 digital signatures as of Wednesday morning . `` Justin 's a good kid , '' Jennifer Carter wrote on the petition . `` He would n't hurt anyone , let alone a child . '' She wrote that he has been `` assaulted a number of times '' in jail and that no weapons were found during a search of his home . The American Civil Liberties Union tells CNN it is monitoring the case . `` We are all concerned about safety in our schools , but that 's not what is at issue here , '' said Rebecca L. Robertson , legal and policy director for the ACLU of Texas . `` The First Amendment protects a person 's speech -- even speech that is in poor taste -- as long as it is not a true threat . `` Justin 's online comment might have been distasteful and thoughtless . But , if the facts as reported are true , his comment is an objectionable joke rather than an actual threat , in which case the Comal County District Attorney is prosecuting protected speech . That 's a dangerous precedent . ''
Jailed teen to get hearing that could reduce his bond . Attorney says Justin Carter , 19 , has `` suffered abuse '' in jail . Carter was arrested after arguing on Facebook over a video game . The terroristic threat charge is a felony that brings up to eight years in prison .