WTF: Wisconsin man calls cops racists, gets convicted. [View all]

[savalez]

A federal lawsuit filed by a Wisconsin man alleges that Arena police violated his civil rights by charging him for calling officers racists on Facebook.

In 2012, Thomas G. Smith had seen an Arena Police Department Facebook post thanking community members for helping to detain two black children. Smith responded with a profanity-laced message about how Arena officers were racists.

~snip~

That night, officers arrested him at his home in Arena. He was charged with disorderly conduct and unlawful use of computerized communications.

Prosecutors asserted that his words had not been protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution because they could incite violence. Smith was convicted, and sentenced to probation with community service.

The sentence was later overturned because the Supreme Court’s so-called “fighting words doctrine” only applied when the speaker was in close proximity to the listener. The judge ruled that Smith’s Facebook messages should have been protected under the First Amendment.

I hope he wins.

Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/11/man-sues-after-minn-police-come-to-his-home-arrest-him-for-calling-them-racists-on-facebook/