Court: Threats posted on Facebook are crimes
Photographer: WFTS
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 03/19/2013
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida appeals court has decided that posting threats on one's personal Facebook page can be prosecuted under the state's "sending written threats to kill or do bodily harm" law.
The 1st District Court of Appeal on Monday ruled in a case that a Facebook post could be considered a "sending" for the purposes of the law.
The language in question was in a status that the defendant had posted on his Facebook page about a relative and her same-sex partner. The relative didn't see it but found out about it through another family member.
The defendant said he couldn't be charged because he did not "send" the threatening language to his relative. A unanimous three-judge panel disagreed.
The case is O'Leary v. State of Florida, 1D12-0975.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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