Calif. Man Arrested For ESPN Post On Killing Kids

SternisheFan writes with an AP story as carried by Yahoo that illustrates one of the boundaries of free speech online: "A California man accused of posting comments on ESPN's website saying he was watching kids and wouldn't mind killing them was in jail Tuesday on $1 million bail after he was arrested for investigation of making terrorist threats, authorities said. Several guns were found Monday at the home of former Yale University student Eric Yee, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Steve Low. Yee was arrested after the sports network ESPN reported threatening posts were made in a reader response section to an online ESPN story on Thursday about new Nike sneakers named after LeBron James that cost $270 a pair. Some of the nearly 3,000 reader comments on the story talked about children possibly getting killed over the sneakers because of how expensive they are, said ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys. 'What he was posting had nothing to do with sports," Soltys said Tuesday. "We closely monitor the message boards and anytime we get a threat, we're alerting law enforcement officials.' An employee at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., notified local police the same day and they linked the posting to Yee's home in Santa Clarita in northern Los Angeles County."

Comments

this really happened

[circletimessquare]

a kid was killed waiting in line to buy nike sneakers here in NY, 3 weeks ago:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120911/NEWS01/309110036/homicide-arrest-Gates-sneaker-store-robbery

in other words, the cops have a reason to act on these threats, as this actually happens, and is not in the realm of absurdity, but reality

i know, the slashdot zeitgeist is to whine and moan about this

but i'm sorry, if you are going around threatening to kill people online, i'm glad the cops go after you

freedom? safety? blah blah blah: what the fuck are you doing threatening to kill people online?! you forfeit all free speech protections when you do that

c'mon stop with the bullshit slashdot

libel and threats of real world violence are exempt from free speech and subject to arrest and prosecution. as it should be. free speech has always had, and will always have, these exempt provisions

and this is the correct status quo!

grow up slashdot. seriously

enough with the hysteric, spastic, melodramatic ben franklin quotes about freedom and safety IN THE CONTEXT OF ASSHOLES WHO THREATEN REAL WORLD VIOLENCE

if you threaten real world violence, fuck you, throw your ignorant dumb ass in jail: 100% correct. really