Tech Dirt – by Tim CushingMaybe the time has come for Facebook to implement a [Not a Threat] tag to go with its new [Satire] tag. That way, precious law enforcement resources won’t be expended hunting down and arresting someone who really isn’t threatening anyone.
WFIE 14 News is reporting that 31-year-old James Evans of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky was arrested on terroristic threatening charges after he posted lyrics from a song by the heavy metal band Exodus on Facebook. On August 24, Evans posted the following quote from the song “Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer)”, “Student bodies lying dead in the halls, a blood splattered treatise of hate. Class dismissed is my hypothesis, gun fire ends [the] debate.” Shortly thereafter, he was taken into custody by authorities under the rationale that his posting constituted a threat “to kill students and or staff at school,” according to his arrest warrant.
Evans ended up spending 8 days in jail for exercising his First Amendment rights. Terroristic threat charges haven’t been dropped but his case has been deferred for six months. He’s also been ordered to undergo a mandatory mental health evaluation — all for posting lyrics written by someone else.
According to Evans, even some of the officers he spoke to felt there was no reason he should have been arrested. But the statement made by (why?) the county’s school resource officer seems to indicate this response was perfectly justified. Resource officer Mike Drake said “multiple agencies” received calls about Evan’s post. When you have multiple complainants babbling about school shootings, you really can’t just sit around the precinct doing nothing. What you can do, however, is get a little context before booking someone on criminal charges. Turning someone into a criminal simply because they showed a little lack of judgement isn’t the appropriate response. Beyond that, there’s the First Amendment — which doesn’t cover actual threats but definitely protects stuff a bunch of people mistakenly viewed as a threat.
I find it ironic that the people running the schools these days are allowed to display extreme paranoia as a matter of “policy” and react with hysterics to situations that they dream up and yet the kids are the ones being put on meds and sent for evaluations. This country is so messed up!
Every day, the more I read, the less I can think of something to say, having be rendered speechless…..
Yet – most likely – Obama orders the shootdown of Malaysian 17 in an attempt to assassinate Putin (he was flying commercial that day), the Black Boxes are ‘archived’, but a student is arrested for ‘lyrics’.
Meanwhile, the US military, as bad as their leader, look the other way and prepare to go to war – and again die – for the US dollar, political power, and Central Banks.
Like I said the other day; This used to bother me, but since most everyone seems happy with it all – including the military, I might as well sit back and enjoy the show.
Occams ~
I hear ya’, friend! I have been abstaining from commenting, and even cut down on reading. (a kind of ‘saturation-point’) I’m getting more focused on spiritual growth.
Shhhh!, butter not ever open your mouth about anything, they will take you away and lock you up.