It is bad enough when the hypersensitive and overprivileged can create a federal civil suit over comments on an online forum, but an over-zealous prosecutor in Fort Collins, Colorado is trying to put a guy in the slammer for ranting and raving on… the Rants and Raves section on Craigslist.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A man accused of making unflattering online comments about his former lover and her attorney on Craigslist has been charged with two counts of criminal libel.
“It’s not a charge you see a lot of,” Larimer County District Attorney Larry Abrahamson said of the 1800s-era state law that can put people in jail for the content of their speech or writing.
Abrahamson charged J.P. Weichel, 40, of Loveland, in October over posts he allegedly made on Craigslist’s “Rants and Rave” section.
The case began when a woman told Loveland police in December 2007 about postings made about her between November and December 2007. Court records show posts that suggested she traded sexual acts for legal services from her attorney and mentioned a visit from child services because of an injury to her child. (source)
I nominate Abrahamson for a punch in the dick.
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December 2, 2008 at 10:32 pm |
Just when I thought I’d cornered the market on posts with junk-punching taglines…
December 5, 2008 at 10:11 pm |
Ari Armstrong wrote a pretty good piece on this at Colorado Freedom Report also. Personally, I think that an old American custom, Tar & Feathering, should be brought back. Just for people like Abrahamson…
December 21, 2008 at 11:16 pm |
The reason these charges were persued was both of the alleged “victims” were both former employees of the district attorneys office.