Title: Woman Arrested For Posting Selfie With Gun on Facebook (Police state? What police state?) Source:
Free Thought Project URL Source:http://thefreethoughtproject.com/fa ... d-posting-selfie-gun-facebook/ Published:Apr 5, 2015 Author:Cassandra Fairbanks Post Date:2015-04-05 14:11:17 by Deckard Keywords:None Views:582 Comments:1
Be careful what you post on Facebook, or you could be charged with a crime over your smiling selfie. This is something 26-year-old Kristin Holmes learned the hard way this week when she was arrested and charged with a crime she referred to as Facebook Thugging, for posting of a photo of herself with a handgun.
Its not just photos that can get you in trouble though, the Fraternal Order of Police is warning that in Virginia, you can be charged with this crime even for swearing.
Holmes was charged with harassment by computer after a case of mistaken identity escalated into a Facebook comment feud. A woman had reportedly mistaken Holmes for someone else and made some comments Holmes found offensive, so the young woman posted a selfie of herself playfully pointing a weapon at the camera along with the caption, Ill post a few actual pics of me so you know the difference when you come find me.
The woman was reported to her local police and was taken into custody. She is charged with a class 1 misdemeanor that carries up to one year in prison and/or a $2,600 fine.
It wasnt a threat. I thought it was a funny picture, and then I realized later that it was a little bit intimidating. So I took it down. What happened to freedom of speech? Holmes told CNN.
The absurdity doesnt stop there, however. Kevin Carroll with the Fraternal Order of Police told NBC that there is no such thing as a petty crime, and parroted repeatedly that the law is the law. The police do as they are told without any thought for the moral implications of their enforcement of stupid laws. We may as well have those robot police we recently reported on patrolling our streets, they would probably have more independent thought than we will ever hear from the FOP.
Think this wouldnt happen in your state?
In January, a New York teen was arrested for using threatening emojis.