Monday, August 27, 2018
#FREESPEECH IN THE NEWS: AUGUST 27, 2018
As the Citadel of Free Speech here in Cleveland, we work to protect and promote the basis of our democracy by sharing related stories, commentary, and opinions on free speech in the 21st century. Here's what's making the news – and what you should know about – in the past week.
1.) Judge sides with police in weapons case of ‘free speech’ rally attendee
A man at a free speech rally says Boston Police violated his first amendments rights by singling him out amongst hundreds of protestors.
The man says this violation led to his eventual arrest on weapons charges, and that police overreacted. Boston Police says their initial confrontation with Nathan Mizrah was for his own safety, as the crowd was growing and becoming more agitated. Mizrah was wearing army fatigues at the time of his arrest, and police say the crowd was reacting to his attire.
Mizrah and his attorney say this isn’t the case, and the officers on duty were seeking a way to disrupt the crowd and did so in a way that violated their free speech rights.
2.) Rapper jailed for song threatening police tries a free speech appeal — and loses
A court has ruled that a rap song threatening specific police officers by name is not free speech, and the man arrested for the lyrics was found guilty of making terroristic threats.
Jamal Knox, now 24, was 18 was he wrote the song, in which he compares himself to man on death row for the murder of officers. A music video for the song also showed pictures of the officers.
The court came to the ruling that the song was not free speech because it specifically mentions harm. Knox argued that because the song is art, it is not to be taken seriously and thus free speech.
3.) Amazon Removes Free Speech ‘Exercise’ Featuring 3-D Printed Gun Code Book
The controversial 3-D printed gun instructions are can no longer be found on Amazon.
An Amazon spokesperson says “book was removed for violating our content guidelines,” but declined to elaborate on which guidelines the book violated.
The $20 book, titled The Liberator Code Book: An Exercise in the Freedom of Speech, received a mere seven reviews on Amazon before being removed from the site. But one of the reviews, written by a “verified user,” describes the potential implications of the book:
“It doesn’t really matter which side you fall on when it comes to guns. The fact that this book exists forces you to think about how far are we willing to go with gun control as it strays into suppression of free speech.”
