Police Arrest People for Criticizing Cops on Facebook and Twitter | Hacker News Reader

Police Arrest People for Criticizing Cops on Facebook and Twitter

theintercept.com

43 pointsvezycash26 comments

Violence is terrible, terrible thing. But when a society starts to prosecute people for thoughtcrime, it is even more chilling.

There were open calls for murder of cops along with an image of an officer with slit throat. This is as blatant violence incitement online as it gets. It is against the law and posters should be charged.

Also, saying things like "all cops should die" and "we all should grab our pistols and start busting at 'em" are not criticisms of police.

"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."

"All cops should die" is not a credible threat and should not be viewed as one, and though "you should all die" is not an actionable criticism it certainly implies the existential critique that the black people in America have for the police, eg that they kill black people for nothing and treat them as subhuman.

Arresting people for e-threats is probably not a good use of police time considering the real problems they have, it's simply a use of intimidation and overreaction to a situation they feel like they can't control.

Would you mind giving me your name and address? I want to report you for spreading the mental image of a police officer with a slit throat.

You are reproducing a forbidden idea. It is no different to posting links to child pornography and support for terrorism.

At this time we all need to pull together and back the blue.

You should report yourself as you are spreading mental image of child pornography.

If ideas aren't bad, why racism is bad, or sexism? Just because I say that I hate you because you are the race you are, I don't hurt you directly. Why is it not allowed then? It isn't real violence at all, I just call everyone to kill you and your family. I don't kill you myself of course, I'm nor criminal. But I make it very clear that I would be congratulating anyone who killed you, and I would make sure he is not punished for that.

This is what you are advocating for.

Racism and sexism is allowed. It's not illegal for a person to express a racist or sexist opinion and it should never be—it's just discouraged by most of society these days. There's a clearly defined legal line for where expressions of support for violence become credible threats or incitement of violence, and it sounds like some or all of these did not cross that line, which means the police acted emotionally and illegally to arrest them.

Oh really? So you are saying that if I said a sexist joke at work I could not be legally held accountable?

That's correct. Your employer might give you a talking to or fire you, but they could not charge you with a crime.

So you are telling everyone here that you could go to work, loudly exclaim that you hate niggers and they should die (analogous to police situation in article) and you wouldn't face any legal actions?

Not in USA at least. You would of course be immediately fired, but it's not actually illegal, so you couldn't be charged with a crime.

That's right. In the U.S., saying you think certain kinds of people should die is not illegal and is not considered a threat, legally. Nor is saying you hate certain people.

> Just because I say that I hate you because you are the race you are, I don't hurt you directly. Why is it not allowed then?

Damned if I know. I do not agree with hate speech laws. I think they are corrosive of the fundamental need to free speech in a democracy.

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 said.

The war has begun.

How long until people are arrested for thinking a cop is bad?

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