Department of Justice Attempting to Censor Free Speech Online
(TheAntiMedia)
The Supreme Court of the United States decided to hear Elonis vs.
United States, a case regarding what constitutes a threat on Facebook or
elsewhere on the web, but the implications reach far beyond a
wannabe-Eminem arguing with his wife. It attacks the very fabric of the
First Amendment.
Elonis and his wife split,
and she left with his two sons. Elonis, an aspiring rapper, took to
Facebook to post lyrics and rants about killing his wife. Tara, his
ex-wife, felt threatened by the posts and obtained a protective order.
The rants continued, and an FBI agent came out to investigate. The
Department of Justice (DOJ) contends that he then threatened the FBI
agent on Facebook.
When framed in the DOJ’s case, it sounds like a perfect example of
the government stepping in and stopping a domestic violence situation
from escalating, which would be applauded. The problem is that it
wasn’t. The lyrics posted by Elonis were plainly an attempt to ride on
Eminem’s coattails. Apparently, nobody told Elonis the “I’m going to
kill my wife and put her at the bottom of lake” shtick has run its
course.
