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Criminal Law Keyed to Kadish
Elonis v. United States
Citation:
135 S. Ct. 2001 (2015)Facts
After Defendant’s wife left him, Defendant started posting rap songs and other material on Facebook that contained violent language and imagery. Defendant often included disclaimers on his posts that they were “fictitious” and “therapeutic,” but the targets of his Facebook posts saw it differently. Defendant’s wife requested and received a state-court order of protection after viewing these posts. Thereafter, Defendant posted more violent language and imagery on Facebook again. This time Defendant’s posts were directed against more people, including fellow employees, FBI agents, and local children.
Defendant was convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. §875(c). The jury was instructed to find that Defendant “communicated what a reasonable person would regard as a threat.” Defendant was sentenced to three years and eight months of imprisonment.
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