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Man Arrested For Parodying Mayor On Twitter Files Civil Rights Lawsuit

Posted by timothy on from the and-how-will-this-play-out dept.

mpicpp (3454017) writes with an update from Ars Technica to this story: "The Illinois man who made headlines when he was detained for parodying the town's mayor on Twitter sued the Peoria politician and local police, claiming on Thursday that his civil rights were violated. As part of the April raid, the authorities seized the mobile phone and laptop of the 29-year-old prankster, Jonathan Daniel, and reviewed their contents, which he says was in violation of his First Amendment rights. Daniel, the operator of the @peoriamayor handle shut down by Twitter after the city threatened a lawsuit, was initially accused of impersonating a public official in violation of Illinois law. The authorities never lodged charges, however."

5 of 163 comments (clear)

  1. Shut up and take my money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is there a crowdfunding site where I can donate to his legal fund? I can't stand Illinois, and any time somebody scores a victory against the government there it brightens my day.

    1. Re:Shut up and take my money by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      In this case, it's an Illinois Republican. Elected with 100% of the vote, yet apparently has somewhat thin skin.

      And he's a numb skull if he thinks arrest is going to fly with higher courts. It's perfectly legal to parody a public official in the US.

      In fact, I'm pretty sure most of our elected officials are parodies of public servants.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:Shut up and take my money by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      At this stage he probably doesn't have much confidence in law enforcement.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  2. Re:Jonathan Daniel won the legal lottery by LordLucless · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Right - they never lodged charges, but they stole his stuff, and read his private papers anyway. That's sorta the whole point.

    --
    Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
  3. Re:Is this still the Land of the Free ? by NoKaOi · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I sadly can't think of a better alternative, though.

    For a start, how about calling "campaign contributions" what they really are, "bribes," and make it illegal.