Judge Deems Facebook-Posting Rapper Cameron D'Ambrosio A 'Threat,' Denies Bail
from the if-you-can't-do-the-time,-don't-do-the-rhyme? dept
Cameron D'Ambrosio, the Massachusetts teen arrested and charged with "communicating terroristic threats" (or "bomb threats," depending on who's doing the reporting) via a Facebook post (in the form of rap lyrics -- CammyDee has aspirations), has been denied bail by the state's Superior Court.
The judge's decision was based on the "dangerousness" hearing held May 9th in Lawerence County Judge Lynn Rooney's courtroom, in which she decided D'Ambrosio was a threat to others based on his previous run-ins with the law.
“I believe the behavior here has been escalating,” Judge Lynn Rooney said after reviewing a half dozen records of police and probation reports prosecutors submitted at the hearing. “And it’s very troubling.”D'Ambrosio's past is far from squeaky clean and he seems to have acquired a reputation for threatening others. (He also seems to let his better judgement take a backseat to mouth/keyboard -- the officer who arrested Cameron after his Facebook post knew him from a previous incident, one in which D'Ambrosio was hospitalized after being beaten so severely by another student that his spleen ruptured. This beating was apparently prompted by some Facebook comments D'Ambrosio directed towards the other student's girlfriend.)
The reports included D’Ambrosio’s arrest in June after a fight over $20 with his older sister, who called police after locking herself in her room. During the argument, D’Ambrosio pushed her and, after she locked herself in her bedroom, threatened to stab her, according to the arrest report from June 21.
Police said D’Ambrosio admitted he said that, but said he was just upset. The case was continued on Oct. 17, and dismissed on April 17, exactly two weeks before he was arrested for the Facebook post.
Rooney said she also was troubled by a police report from November 2011, which said D’Ambrosio threatened to shoot two eighth-grade students. Police said he admitted to making that statement, but was only kidding.
So, D'Ambrosio clearly knows how to make specific threats directed towards specific individuals. But it took a vague "threat," delivered in the form of a horrible/horrific "rap" to finally get him locked up, threatened with a 20-year sentence and denied bail. Even Sheriff Joe Solomon, who went to great lengths to read between the lines of D'Ambrosio's Facebook post and attribute him with things he didn't actually say, admitted the post contained no specific threats.
I do want to make clear he did not make a specific threat against the school or any particular individuals but he did threaten to kill a bunch of people and specifically mentioned the Boston Marathon and the White House.The first part of Solomon's sentence is true -- D'Ambrosio made no specific threats. The second part? Not so much. For clarification, here's the entire Facebook post currently being declared a "terroristic threat" by the state. This includes some additional verbiage (in bold) that wasn't contained in previous reporting.
All you haters keep my fuckin' name outcha mouths, got it? what the fuck I gotta do to get some props and shit huh? Ya'll wanme to fucking kill somebody? What the fuck do these fucking demons want from me? Fucking bastards I ain't no longer a person, I’m not in reality. So when u see me fucking go insane and make the news, the paper, and the fuckin federal house of horror known as the white house, Don’t fucking cry or be worried because all YOU people fucking caused this shit. Fuck a boston bominb wait till u see the shit I do, I’ma be famous rapping, and beat every murder charge that comes across me!Rapper addresses haters, makes grandiose claims, plays up street cred with criminal references. Positively unremarkable, except that multiple students reported this status update to school administration. This doesn't necessarily mean these students felt threatened. It's equally believable that D'Ambrosio's mouth, attitude and behavior made him less than well-liked at his school.
Sheriff Solomon then took what little was offered and ran with it, leading us up to this point. But you have to wonder where state prosecutors will go with this as it heads through the judicial system. D'Ambrosio's lawyer points out there's not much here for the state to work with.
DuBosque argued in court that D’Ambrosio was not a danger because he was not threatening specific violence, and police found no explosives, weapons or other writing about violence when they searched his home. The post started out as lyrics, he said.The statute D'Ambrosio is charged with violating will need to be stretched to cover a "threat" that fails to meet most of the specifications. But once the word "terrorist" is introduced into the mix, specificities tend to suddenly become vague "guidelines" as the law is bent, beaten and painted to match.
Because D’Ambrosio did not threaten to use a weapon in a specific place or against a specific person, the post did not meet the state statute’s requirements, DuBosque said.
On the plus side, D'Ambrosio has more than a few citizens working towards preventing both the First Amendment and the tactless rapper from going down the drain. A petition created by the Center for Rights and Fight For The Future asking for D'Ambrosio's release has gathered over 70,000 signatures. The local Center for Rights has also criticized the judge's decision to deny bail (as well as the charge itself), pointing out that D'Ambrosio is facing a stiffer sentence than if he had actually assaulted someone.
As I stated previously, I don't have a problem with something like this being investigated. But the end result should have been little more than "loudmouth teen says stupid shit," and perhaps some court-ordered counseling or supervised probation, considering his past behavior. Instead, we have a high school student facing a 20-year sentence for saying the wrong thing ("Boston bombinb" [sic]) at the wrong time (too soon).
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Filed Under: arrests, bail, cam d'ambrosio, cameron d'ambrosio, cammydee, lyrics, social networks, terror
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Yeah, except he's not a rapper. Just a run of the mill thug and criminal. That many of his peers reported this and also knew him well should tell you what you need to know. But no; once again you stoop to defend human garbage like this.
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What was his crime? I mean, no guns or weapons were found at his home. His sister is defending him even though they got into siblings quarrels. I mean who has never hit their siblings in a quarrel ever? I love my sister. We had pretty bad fights in the past where we'd hit each other and HURT each other for real. And yet we are great partners and we'd go to great lengths to defend each other.
Do you have any info we don't? Evidence?
If not, shut up.
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oh that makes ALL the difference !!!!! lets all just go with what his sister says.
He is really a very nice little boy, attends Sunday school and is polite to elders.
BULLSHIT.
This moron fails to meet the minimum standard for acceptance to the human race. That is his crime.
Fuck a boston bominb wait till u see the shit I do
that is a DIRECT THREAT, closely followed by this gem...
I’ma be famous rapping, and beat every murder charge that comes across me!
lets have him around for dinner some time, Tim I am sure you would be happy for him to meet your wife !!! or kids.
Perhaps you would like to introduce him to Masnick's kids ?
Don't forget the Boston Bombing is nothing compared to what he is going to do..
Spoiler: MURDER!!!!!
Do you know what that word means Tim ??
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Spoiler: MURDER!!!!!
So now you are omniscient..
This moron fails to meet the minimum standard for acceptance to the human race. That is his crime.
I happen to think the same about you. Go to the nearest police department so they can forward you to the nearest jail. Don't mind any court proceedings, you surely have done something stupid in your earlier days that can be used as some sort of unquestionable evidence.
Moron.
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Did you try acting like a sane, intelligent adult to make a point on any article yet, or is this childish drivel still what you think will change peoples' minds about anything?
Oh, and unless I'm very much mistaken, the person you're responding to isn't Tim.
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'bombing', 'killing', and 'destroying' are often used as a metaphor for a particularly well constructed rap verse. Besting other wrappers with a verse is often referenced in the lyrics with metaphors of violence as well, generally with vague attributions.
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And according to you, anyone who I wouldn't want to "meet my kids" has no rights/should be locked up?
I'd rather my kids lived in a free society than one in which fearful cretins like you run the show.
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And if you ever hit your sister, you're as much a douche as the wannabe self-proclaimed rapper you're defending. Sorry. I got in lots of fights with my sisters, never once laid a hand on her.
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That's just so chocked full of wrong that I'm surprised you don't work for the government - maybe you do.
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Try adjusting your own inanity rather than attacking others for a change.
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Hahahahahaha... you got beat up by your sister? I find that completely believable sweet boy.
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You missed the important part, namely that he's being threatened with a higher sentence for words, not even words aimed at someone but just saying something in general, than if he'd actually attacked someone.
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Re: gullible white cattle
this is not left vs right, GOP vs Dems, Socialism vs liberty. This is war against White people.
Why do hostile globalist elite defend Israel as a Jewish ethnostate with Jewish only immigration, but ravage White majority Europe/North America into a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural Gulag with dystopian non-White colonization?
The world is 93% non-White, only 7% White. But 3rd world colonizers, Muslims, Sikhs, Hispanics, are aggressively advancing their agenda to annihilate gullible Whites, just as China annihilates Tibet.
How long will gullible Whites cuckold for murderous anti-White elite, who confiscate our guns, infiltrate/subvert our banks/FBI/CIA, indoctrinate White kids in academia/mass media, plunder White jobs/wages, & butcher White soldiers in bankrupting wars?
"Native" Americans invaded from East Asia. Yellow & Brown races committed 10-times more genocide, slavery, imperialism than Whites. Since Old-Testament, Whites have been victims of Jewish/Crypto-Jewish, Turkic, Muslim, N.African imperialism, slavery, genocide.
Gullible Whites should reject subversive ideologies- libertarianism, feminism, liberalism- & reject hostile slanders of racism. Peace to all humanity, but White people must organize to advance their interests, their fertility, their homelands. Spread this message. Reading list: goo.gl/iB777 , goo.gl/htyeq , amazon.com/dp/0759672229 , amazon.com/dp/1410792617
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/s
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So no, I can't click 'em. Which I consider a plus, mind you :)
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Response to: Anonymous Coward on May 28th, 2013 @ 6:02am
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Funny thing, the First Amendment even covers human garbage. Be thankful for that.
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It tells us something we all know very well: teenagers can be malicious little bastards, and his 'peers' knew exactly what sort of trouble he'd get in if they reported him. They didn't report him out of fear, they did it for entertainment.
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No specific threats ??
ME, 'Making the news, the paper, "white House", "YOU CAUSED THIS SHIT"
What don't you understand the DIRECT threat, or what "GOING INSANE AND MAKING THE NEWS means.
You cannot get much more DIRECT than that, I for one like to see this moron right where he is, in prison, and to remain there for about as long as copyright is valid for.
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Re: No specific threats ??
Pray your kid doesn't go into a rebellious phase. O wait, every single kid, teen has these phases.
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I can think of some threats more direct than that...
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Re: No specific threats ??
Does that mean all those rappers deserve jail time as well? Perhaps even worse? No, it doesn't. Off the top of my head, I can think of several songs about murder, some about thievery, robbery, and a lot about anti-guverment. Should Lupe Fiasco, 50 Cent, Ludicrous, Dr. Dre, Eminem, and the like get jailtime for words they never said, just wrote about? It's a lot like being a writer -- just because you write horrific events into your stories doesn't make you a criminal. It's when that escalates into real violence that it does -- not before.
There is no direct threat, no direct correlation. Siblings had a nasty fight, so what? They hammered it out themselves and got over it. I see no wrong doings here at all, except some facebook post, a prior fight with his sibling that admittedly, was pretty bad, but not really damning, and some lyricism that -- while very questionable, and kind of terrible lyrics, are just words that are not translating into action of any sort.
Would you also jail Stephen King, Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Orson Scott Card and the like for writing what they write? No, you wouldn't.
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Okay then.
When does Australia get to start with you, Mr. Fair-Use-makes-my-dick-sad?
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Fuck ya for sad dicks.
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It's also troubling that they are digging up stuff from his childhood to make him look as some sort of psycho. It seems they are using a fact from when he was 12 years old and he got into a fight and bit the other boy as evidence that he is some sort of threat. I'm thinking about the boy that shaped his pastry as a gun or the two kids that were playing bang-bang with their fingers making gun noises with their mouths. So they decide to go rap in the future (or any sort of protest artistic vein) and suddenly because they had these "incidents" they are a threat.
When and why did people get that afraid of everything and anything? When did we become that intolerant? Or have we always been that way and the speed and reach of today's communication systems just made us freak out? (I'm using we, us generally speaking: we as a society).
How can it be reverted if the children are being taught exactly to be the worst kind of intolerant humans possible?
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Oh Tim
btw: he is NOT a rapper, just a fuckwit banger.
Best place for him is prison, or grave.
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Re: Oh Tim
Ah, you just made a specific threat there, didn't you? I'm afraid I have no choice but to report you to the authorities for the public's safety!
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NO.
I am sure lots of people will be very sympathetic to your case.
I do believe you still have a death sentence in the US.
Where is the threat ? implied or direct ?
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You, sir, are an incredible example of how rotten and disgusting humans can be. Congratulations.
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Using the same logic you have used upthread, yes you did. Don't worry though, people here are going to be there to defend you against idiots who would want to strip your rights and lock you up just because you made some stupid comments online. That's because many people believe in innocence before guilt, right to free speech and due process, not the fascist removal of rights supported by those who are blindly attacking this guy.
Ironic, huh?
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Re: Oh Tim
I agree he is probably a fuckwit banger, but am sickened by the ignorant spouting off of individuals like yourself who state "best place for him is prison or a grave".
First, this kid is a teen and not some recidivistic murderer. Secondly, he has not done anything substantively (or by wont of proper procedural law) that would warrant incarceration or death.
Go read The Cucible or some other book which contains paranoia and mob rule and stop trolling. Your "above (or despite) the law" attitude is the same one much of our government possesses, and has no place in a free society.
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Arrest the world ;)
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We had been out there swimming with a couple hundred other people, no booze, no drugs, just families watching their kids.
We were up at the pavillion that was next to the parking lot getting our grill on (hot dogs, although I wish it had been steak).
I had gone to the store to get some more hot dogs, and when I got back, two of the early 20's males were over off to the side talking to a guy that had come up and asked for one of our Solo cups (yellow solo, not red). I guess they traded the cup for a couple cigarettes.
They were over there talking, being loud, kind of like you would expect men in their early 20's to do.
The two guys with us wandered back over and the other guy turned to walk back towards the water when out of freaking nowhere a cop was standing beside him.
The river park we were at is right in the middle of a town of about 2300, so it's a pretty small place where everyone knows everybody.
This cop yanks the cup out of the dude's hands, and starts smelling the inside. The cop starts yelling, he obviously knows this kid had been drinking (because of the kids demeanor..he was a pretty loud drunk). Cop is pointing, and yelling, and radioing for backup. They cuff the kid.
This little show goes on for at least 30 minutes. At that point, over half the people at the river had packed up and left.
In the end, they had nothing to charge him with. They took the handcuffs off and wrote him a ticket for disorderly conduct.
My daughter and I were outraged at this whole scene playing out. Boys will be boys, and he wasn't harming anyone, wasn't going to harm anyone. He had too much to drink and was fairly loud. He stayed away from the kids, and he wasn't going to the deep part of the river. Some other lady was peeved too, cause she went up to the cop and was giving him shit about ruining their fun with this whole display.
One of the young men with us, however, had seen his share of trouble, and pointed out that usually when an older cop is so focused on 'busting' a young male it's generally nothing more than a personal vendetta about 'nailing this kid to the wall' or 'straightening him out'. The kid has probably been skirting the line for a long time now, and honestly there are only 2 results...
He cleans up his act or he escalates the things he does.
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The bigger problem is the network of work associates, friends and family around that cop that know it's personal and either ignore it, or fuel it (see the other story about the 9 cops and a dog that ended up killing the dude they were arresting.)
How is the targeted person SUPPOSED to react?
What we really have lost is the ability as a society to de-escalate a situation.
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Such as ?????
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Oh, and learn to click the reply button when you're trying to respond to somebody. It makes following a conversation easier when there's a lot of posts. Not that you're interested in an actual discussion, but hey...
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Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Eminen
http://rapgenius.com/50-cent-my-life-lyrics
While you were sipping your own kool-aid getting your buzz heavy
I was in the fucking shed sharpening my machete
Sipping on some of that revenge juice, getting my taste buds ready
http://rapgenius.com/Eminem-no-love-lyrics
Fucking right I've got my gun, semi-Cartermatic
Yeah, put a dick in their mouth, so I guess it's "fuck what they say"
I'm high as a bitch: up, up and away
Man, I come down in a couple of days
OK, you want me up in the cage, then I'll come out in beast mode
Check. Your turn.
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OMG, OMG, TERRORISTIC THREATS! He's going after the donut shops! Time to wet my pants and start posting AC comments to Techdirt!!
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50 Cent - Banana Clip
50 Cent - Make A Movie Out Of 'Em
Lil Wayne ft. Rick Ross - John
Rocko ft. Future & Rick Ross - You Don't Even Know It
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"Well, I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man."
"Happiness is a warm gun, yes it is."
"In their eyes, there's something lacking. What they need's a damned good whacking!"
Aside: Of course, it took Charles Manson to turn the latter one into an actual threat. But George Harrison had nothing to do with the actual murders. So make of that what you will.
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"I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die."
"Early one mornin' while makin' the rounds
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down
I went right home and I went to bed
I stuck that lovin' 44 beneath my head"
"The judge he smiled as he picked up his pen
99 years in the Folsom pen
99 years underneath that ground
I can't forget the day I shot that bad bitch down"
"Ten years ago on a cold dark night,
Someone was killed 'neath the town hall light.
There were few at the scene, but they all agreed,
That the slayer who ran looked a lot like me."
^This last one here is taken out of context to also illustrate how easy it is to manipulate others into construing the wrong interpretation by negating pertinent info like what was done with articles referring to Cameron's lyrics.
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What an idiot
Free speech is awesome. So is using your brain and learning when to bridle your tongue.
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Re: What an idiot
Free speech is awesome. So is using your brain and learning when to bridle your tongue.
Why? Why should we curb our speech? Because it's offensive? Because someone doesn't like what we say?
I call bullshit and say your mother sucks toads to get high.
Yes, that can be offensive, maybe as offensive as your father the day you were born, I mean, seriously, those shorts should never be worn by anyone, man.
You hate my speech?
Check this vid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9XzShL0h8M
Look, we don't need to curb our speech unless said speech can endanger a person's life like yelling "fire" in a crowded theater when there is one or use hate speech to cause a riot, etc.
Making a song about doing dangerous things?
No reason to lock the kid up, maybe get him some counselling or something, but locking him up?
That's something that tyrants and terrorists use to take care of speech they don't like.
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*sigh*
You can yell fire in a crowded theater. It's ill advised, but it happens.
Second, I don't doubt that the kid does stupid things. But I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most kids indeed learn their behavior and have to learn from their mistakes. That's what growing up is all about.
I just think the Zero Tolerance policies that we have are backfiring big time with regards to students who are a harm to no one but themselves and their rap careers.
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There's a screencap of his FB post about halfway down the page. (Linked in the story above as well: "A petition created by...)
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It's the police's job to investigate nutcases like that, even if it's just an idiot child looking for attention.
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The above is just used to illustrate how stupid you are. Should I expect law enforcement at my door? And if he has mental issues shouldn't they be COUNSELING AND TREATING him? Shall we start arresting schizophrenic people? Bipolar? Down syndrome?
You should rethink your stance.
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*Of course we can parse this and say not absolutely everyone is a threat, for example what about babies or Stephen Hawking? Though while unable to murder someone with his bare hands I am sure with his great intellect even Stephen can manage to kill someone remotely, and babies can get underfoot to trip someone to their death! /s
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As I stated previously, I don't have a problem with something like this being investigated. But the end result should have been little more than "loudmouth teen says stupid shit," and perhaps some court-ordered counseling or supervised probation, considering his past behavior.
But if they didn't find any evidence to back up his "threat" (not even other writings), why is he facing charges that could net him 20 years in prison?
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So, Johnny Cash belonged in jail for those things he said about Reno? Or do you have a double standard where rappers are concerned? Do you apply the same criteria to actors and writers, or just musicians?
"It's the police's job to investigate nutcases like that, even if it's just an idiot child looking for attention."
Descriptions that apply to numerous commenters here, I note. Also, I note that most people aren't complaining about flags being raised or people looking into the guy's actions. They're concerned about the being jailed and bail being denied because of things he said. Surely, competent investigators can investigate the former without needing to lock up the suspect indefinitely?
It's disturbing that you seem to think that "someone says something I don't like" equals police investigation and that "police investigation" should mean locking someone up without bail.
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Another teenager imprisoned for a Facebook comment
The local news reported that my son had made a specific threat to a school near his father's home and that he was still on the loose;though he was sitting in jail at the time of the news report. He sat in jail for a month, as his father and I could not afford to pay his 250,000 dollar bond. Finally on March 13th, the police came to question my son. Foolishly, he talked to them without his attorney present as he was assured that this whole matter could be cleared up quickly and he would be released. He admitted to writing the post and stated that he was being sarcastic. After my son told police that his actual address was in New Braunfels, TX and not in Austin, TX, he was transferred to a small jail in Comal County. The judge then raised his bond to a half a million dollars and insisted that he be placed on my son's case. His home was not searched for another week after he was questioned!
The only thing the police confiscated was my son's computer as he had no weapons, never had weapons, and no one in our family owns weapons.
His attorney has informed us that the state is intent on getting a conviction and will only be willing to settle for my son signing for 8 years in state prison.
There has been no press on my son other than the one news account of his threat. The only reason my son's statement can be construed as terrorism is because of this case: Brandenburg v. Ohio, set precedent for law enforcement to infringe freedom of speech when the speech shows potential for the law to be broken. The speech must provoke the law, and be both “imminent and likely.”
Clearly, my son's threat was not imminent and likely, as after investigation (a month after his arrest) no weapons or bomb materials were found. My son is being denied his first amendment right to freedom of speech.
Please, if you're interested, take a look at this petition I started and sign:
https://www.change.org/petitions/the-president-of-the-united-states-and-the-attorney-generals -of-massachusetts-and-texas-change-the-investigative-criteria-forterroristic-threat-laws
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Re: Another teenager imprisoned for a Facebook comment
I'd rather live with burglars and drug dealers. At least I can defend myself from those. The Government can be merciless and has far too much power over our data and lives. And lately we are seeing more and more arbitrary actions with no legal base at all go ahead unchecked.
Even though I hope your son can get out of this mess a lot of damage has already been done. He probably lost his job and he probably has a trauma for life. It's a hard lesson: Government does not have any sense of humor.
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Stupid is...
Societally though? He's being an ass. He needs to learn that his tongue can bring a great deal of harm upon him and others. That was my only point. People need to learn discretion. Free speech is all well and good, but if you cannot control your tongue, then you will quickly discover how "free" you really are.
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Re: Stupid is...
Free speech is all well and good, but if you cannot control your tongue, then you will quickly discover how "free" you really are.
In theory he should be completely free to be an ass without any law enforcement overreacting. If anything he could get some beating or get a lawsuit for defamation or something similar. But this? Being arrested for rap lyrics? Dictatorship is the name.
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Mentally ill
The reason for this rather callous attitude towards my predicament? My fortunes have soured and I no longer have a job, healthcare, or a place to live. Ain't America wonderful? Best country on earth?
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Re: Mentally ill
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Threatening lyrics
It was really cathartic
I killed a guy just to try it
Hope that my friends don't mind it
It felt so wrong, it felt so right
Don't mean I'm Psycho tonight
I killed a guy and I liked it
I liked it"
I wrote the above lyrics and posted them on amiright.com sometime last year, so the police might be arriving with an arrest warrant any minute!
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bail
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Rap
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If this Judge had gotten the Ethan Couch case...
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