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Family Law Keyed to Weisberg
Elonis v. United States
Citation:
135 S. Ct. 2001 (2015)Facts
Elonis frequently posted messages of a threatening nature on Facebook. He threatened his estranged wife, police officers, a kindergarten class, an FBI agent, and park patrons and employees. Among other incidents: He posted self-style rap lyrics with graphically violent language and imagery. He posted a photograph of him and a coworker on Halloween where Elonis was holding a toy knife against the co-worker’s throat with the caption “I wish.” He frequently posted crude, degrading, and violent material about his soon-to-be ex-wife (“I’m not going to rest until your body is a mess, soaked in blood and dying from all the little cuts”). He also posted an adaption of a satirical sketch he and his wife watched together, modifying it to say that he wants to kill his wife. At the bottom of the post, Elonis also wrote “Art is about pushing limits. I’m willing to go to jail for my Constitutional rights. Are you?”
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