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After Dallas Shootings, Police Arrest People for Social Media Threats Against Cops

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P

Patryn

Member
So it's come to this:

FOUR MEN IN Detroit were arrested over the past week for posts on social media that the police chief called threatening. One tweet that led to an arrest said that Micah Johnson, the man who shot police officers in Dallas last week, was a hero. None of the men have been named, nor have they been charged.

“I know this is a new issue, but I want these people charged with crimes,” said Detroit Police Chief James Craig. “I’ve directed my officers to prepare warrants for these four individuals, and we’ll see which venue is the best to pursue charges,” he added.

...

Last weekend in Connecticut, police arrested Kurt Vanzuuk after a tip for posts on Facebook that identified Johnson as a hero and called for police to be killed. He was charged with inciting injury to persons or property.

An Illinois woman, Jenesis Reynolds, was arrested for writing in a Facebook post that she would shoot an officer who would pull her over. “I have no problem shooting a cop for simple traffic stop cuz they’d have no problem doing it to me,” she wrote, according to the police investigation. She was charged with disorderly conduct.

In New Jersey, Rolando Medina was arrested and charged with cyber harassment. He allegedly posted on an unidentified social media platform that he would destroy local police headquarters. In Louisiana, Kemonte Gilmore was arrested for an online video in which he allegedly threatened a police officer. He was charged with public intimidation.

...

The policing of online threats is hardly a new issue. The Supreme Court set a precedent last year when it ruled that prosecutors pursuing a charge of communicating threats need to prove both that reasonable people would view the statement as a threat and that the intent was to threaten. Elonis v. United States dealt with a man who had posted violent rap lyrics about his estranged wife; the court reversed his conviction.

“After Dallas, threats may seem more threatening to police officers around the country,” said Daniel Medwed, professor of law at Northeastern University. “We might be seeing more arrests right now because the police will interpret that they have probable cause to make the arrest,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean in the end that this will result in convictions,” he added.
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I have to admit that I saw this article yesterday, and it just made me shake me head, until I saw this tweet about it:

nZYUd1U.png


Seeing that made me suddenly go holy shit. And just angrier that all the people who endured such a shitstorm last year had to suffer with police forces who lacked either the ability or the will to do anything, but yet are suddenly able to respond when they're the ones threatened.

At the same time, arrested people for this stuff is troublesome on a First Amendment ground.

I'm really honestly conflicted.

Lock and mock if old.
 
S

Servbot24

Banned
obin_gam said:
Don't see the problem really.
Threatening people is illegal yes?
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Quotes in the OP don't look like actual threats.

I understand the police chief rightly feels highly disturbed by these types of comments, but if a member of the police can't act rationally in the face of disturbance they deserve to be discharged.
 
D

DontBeThatGuy

Member
I'm pretty sure the guy that first posted that Alton Sterling also got arrested, at his place of work no less. One has to wonder about that timing.
 
C

Culex

Banned
If they are threatening to kill or injur it's the same as if you made the claim directly to the officer. Free speech doesn't grant you immunity to threaten.
 
Moff

Moff

Member
I agree that there absolutely is a double standard here, but this is still a misleading title
critizicing and death threats are not the same thing
 
E

excelsiorlef

Member
These folks should have just written rap lyrics.

Apparently that makes threatening your ex aok and she was a specific target!

Unlike nebulous "police" or "cop"
 
Y

Yaphett Kotto

Member
Literally would do jackshit if this was any internet personality. But once its these cops with a persecution complex, they want to do something.
 
DiscoJer

DiscoJer

Member
It's not just cops. And this has been on for a while.

Last year, when the creator of Silk Road was given a life sentence for creating that website, several commenters at Reason magazine's blog were upset.

One of the commenters said that judges like that should be shot. Another commenter disagreed and said that's a waste of ammo and that's what woodchippers were for.

Was that really a threat? While it's certainly a violent statement, does it really meant that person was going to get a woodchipper and kidnap a judge?

Apparently the government thought so, resulting was the DOJ subpenaing Reason to try to get the names and info of the commenters. And getting a gag order to keep them from talking about the case (which is still on-going)

And some of the people the DOJ wants just said there is a special place in hell for the judge in that case.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-welch-reason-magazine-gag-order-20150628-story.html
 
S

Sulik2

Member
Criticism does not equal threats. Most of those posts sure don't look like threats. Just another self righteous police chief going outside the law to try and silence dissent.
 
K

Kettch

Member
While I think arresting people for making legitimate threats is fine, I've found that law enforcement often likes to stretch that meaning. So I'd like to judge things based on actual quotes with context and not a rephrasing of what someone said.

The only actual quote in that article is the Reynolds one, and I find it very questionable as to whether that's a legitimate threat.
 
P

Patryn

Member
RE: those debating threats vs. criticize in the title: I should note that the thread title is directly from the article, not me.
 
M

Man-is-Obsolete

Member
Of course all threats like this should be treated in such a manner, and therein lies the problem. Before this it was always made out to appear difficult to track these people down or dismissed as nerd rage. All of sudden threats are made to cops and are arrested in less than a week? The optimist in me hopes that now that threats have been made to cops that maybe they take online threats to others more serious, but we'll see I guess.
 
B

Blader

Member
ArchedThunder said:
“I have no problem shooting a cop for simple traffic stop cuz they’d have no problem doing it to me,”
That ain't a threat.
Click to expand...

I think when you've escalated it to "I have no problem shooting [blank] for [reasons]" you've entered the world of threats.

I'm not arguing against the double standard here, btw. I just don't think saying "I have no problem shooting someone" is the foundation of a reasonable, non-violent criticism.

The Exploder said:
They invent a bomb robot and now this. It's pretty telling the extra lengths they go to when it is one of their own.
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I don't think they invented the bomb robot, just found a different use for what they already had. They're already meant to blow things up.
 
Ray Wonder

Ray Wonder

Founder of the Wounded Tagless Children
"Criticizing"

According to the Detroit News, one of the men allegedly said, "All lives can't matter until black lives matter. Kill all white cops." The News also reported that another man praised the Dallas shooter, saying, "He inspired me to do the exact same thing.” Craig said all four men are from Detroit.
Click to expand...

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...ng-social-media-kill-detroit-police/86946186/


------------------------

Yeah, they need to do a better job arresting other people for online threats, by saying that you're deflecting what's happening now. There are different cases with different circumstances, like the difficulty to ID and locate an online person.
 
SaviourMK2

SaviourMK2

Member
Calling pubically for the death of police officers... is he a moron?

I loathe Mitch McConnell, but I know better than to go on facebook or twitter and demand he be straight up murdered.
People need to stop posting private thoughts on public domains.
 
T

TS-08

Member
Blader said:
I think when you've escalated it to "I have no problem shooting [blank] for [reasons]" you've entered the world of threats.

I'm not arguing against the double standard here, btw. I just don't think saying "I have no problem shooting someone" is the foundation of a reasonable, non-violent criticism.
Click to expand...

I would be very surprised if any conviction based on that statement would withstand First Amendment scrutiny. It is, at worst, a conditional threat of an act in some hypothetical future situation, and at best, she isn't even actually threatening anything. She is just saying she would not have any qualms over such an act, not necessarily that she is going to do it. It doesn't seem like a "true threat" to me, and one could argue it is political hyperbole.
 
M

Mr. Giggles

Member
I dunno man, for some of those posts they do read like threats, saying you would kill cops sounds like is a threat, Its not criticism.

Critique: The police show poor tact and professionalism by unfair targeting of minorities.

Threat: If I see a cop, I'm going to use my weapon and fire on him or her
 
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