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Rights activists see double standard in Twitter arrest

Cold Highway

Cold Highway

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The criminal complaint against Madison said he broke the law by using Twitter to direct unlawful protesters and other people involved in criminal acts to avoid arrest and to inform them of police movements and actions. Twitter allows subscribers to publish 140-character text messages.
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There is an old piece of technology that does this too, its called a scanner but yet those arent illegal.

Rights activists see double standard in Twitter arrest | Technology | Internet | Reuters
 
So now it is even illegal to inform the general public about where the 'state sponsored dissenter quellers' might beat you down at?
 
dirtpoorchris said:
So now it is even illegal to inform the general public about where the 'state sponsored dissenter quellers' might beat you down at?
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Duh. How are they supposed to do their jobs of beating down those who dare protest any state action if they are thwarted by technology? It's just fine, however, for them to use any technology in order to find people to beat down, or to use during the beatdown. It's also just fine to beat down anyone who looks suspicious, or who might even look suspicious at some point.
 
In regards to these parts of the article:

The criminal complaint against Madison said he broke the law by using Twitter to direct unlawful protesters and other people involved in criminal acts to avoid arrest and to inform them of police movements and actions.
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Here is what I believe they are thinking....

If I were to tell a bank robber that just robbed a bank that police were coming around the corner, I would be aiding someone that broke the law and thus would be prosecuted. But in this case I am directly helping the person that broke the law.

In the case of twiiter, you would have to prove intent that he was doing the twitter SPECIFICALLY to aid the people that broke the law.

EDIT: I don't think they will be able to prove intent and they will have to drop it IMO.
 
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The criminal complaint against Madison said he broke the law by using Twitter to direct unlawful protesters and other people involved in criminal acts to avoid arrest and to inform them of police movements and actions. Twitter allows subscribers to publish 140-character text messages.
Click to expand...

If that's what he did, then yep, it's illegal. It's been illegal for years now. It's called, "aiding and abetting a crime".
 
TheNextEra said:
In regards to these parts of the article:



Here is what I believe they are thinking....

If I were to tell a bank robber that just robbed a bank that police were coming around the corner, I would be aiding someone that broke the law and thus would be prosecuted. But in this case I am directly helping the person that broke the law.

In the case of twiiter, you would have to prove intent that he was doing the twitter SPECIFICALLY to aid the people that broke the law.

EDIT: I don't think they will be able to prove intent and they will have to drop it IMO.
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I wonder then... If I state the location of a DUI checkpoint and some random drunkard heard it. Avoided the checkpoint and accidentally killed someone with his car. Would I be criminally responsible?

And if I did it for the purpose of helping a criminal intentionally but never let anyone know that. Then am I still?

I think with the 'state sponsored dissent quellers' often enveloping innocent protesters in their little crackdowns that the purpose of the tweets where more than likely helping people practice free speech.

Although if this guy was targeting a few individuals and had a plot to commit a damaging crime then OK. If he was putting his tweets out to an unselected audience then he is totally innocent.

If this is a problem then we all need to vote and maybe make reporting on police activities and exclusive crime.
 
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dirtpoorchris said:
I wonder then... If I state the location of a DUI checkpoint and some random drunkard heard it. Avoided the checkpoint and accidentally killed someone with his car. Would I be criminally responsible?
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Again, I still believe that you wouldn't be responsible, because it would be on the burden of the state to show you had intent to specifically help that person that broke the law. I don't think they could show intent.
 
dirtpoorchris said:
I wonder then... If I state the location of a DUI checkpoint and some random drunkard heard it. Avoided the checkpoint and accidentally killed someone with his car. Would I be criminally responsible?
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Yes, you would.
 
dirtpoorchris said:
And if I did it for the purpose of helping a criminal intentionally but never let anyone know that. Then am I still?
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That would be like asking if someone robbed a bank and you specifically helped the person escape would you be criminally responsible. Of course you would.

But in the twitter case, they would have to show intent.
 
dirtpoorchris said:
No. I wouldn't.
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You aided in the commission of a crime that resulted in the deaths of citizens. Not only would you criminally responsible, you would be liable. If they couldn't get you in a criminal court, they could get you in a civil court.
 
apdst said:
You aided in the commission of a crime that resulted in the deaths of citizens. Not only would you criminally responsible, you would be liable. If they couldn't get you in a criminal court, they could get you in a civil court.
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They would have to prove intent if he did it on twitter.
 
Meh. Its like that speed trap thing. If the protesters get the note the cops are coming and go home its almost as good as arresting them and carting them off the street. Not really the same as a felony.
 
TheNextEra said:
They would have to prove intent if he did it on twitter.
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The act would be intent. It's like proving intent when someone robs a liquir store. Did he intend on robbing the liquir store? Same thing with aiding and abetting.
 
apdst said:
The act would be intent. It's like proving intent when someone robs a liquir store. Did he intend on robbing the liquir store? Same thing with aiding and abetting.
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When someone posts the location of a speed trap, it is not intent. Sorry but it is not the same thing. Can you show me an instance where someone posts the location of a speedtrap where they were arrested for someone speeding?
 
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TheNextEra said:
When someone posts the location of a speed trap, it is not intent. Sorry but it is not the same thing. Can you show me an instance where someone posts the location of a speedtrap where they were arrested for someone speeding?
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It's still illegal. Just like it's illegal for someone to report the location of a cop on a CB radio. Not a felony, but still illegal.
 
If cops are unleashed on a populace unjustly then perhaps I don't want to be where they are exactly. Even though I'm up to no ill. I know how the system works. I don't want to be ruffled up and forced through cars and rooms and written up by royal decree "Thou art a criminal and this will be tallied against you within our system. We hope you change."

Next thing you know it will be illegal to say "The cops are outside my house." Cops are ants of the hive of the city. Actively converting the force that quells the dissenters is the only way to ever hope to get through any barriers being set up. To convince them that their paycheck inst worth your silence. Make them feel guilty once then be their friend till they beat you. But its only worth doing if everyone is willing to do it. Or you are just embers in a fire that pass shortly.

Then with that short and sudden conversion (if at all possible) penetrate a key event and leave peacefully. I garentee you that the first police force to instead enter the next world event with the protesters will be the highest regarded servants in history as we remember it so far. At least to me. :)
 
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apdst said:
It's still illegal. Just like it's illegal for someone to report the location of a cop on a CB radio. Not a felony, but still illegal.
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Again show me where someone was areested for telling the location of a speed trap. Hell it's been done on the radio MANY times. In Colorado, there were many radio broadcasts of speed traps yet NOONE was arrested.

Even I've texted at times to friends and family when I pass by many cops for them to be careful. I've not been arrested for it. Please show me the law where it is illegal to broadcast speed traps.
 
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double post
 
TheNextEra said:
Again show me where someone was areested for telling the location of a speed trap. Hell it's been done on the radio MANY times. In Colorado, there were many radio broadcasts of speed traps yet NOONE was arrested.

Even I've texted at times to friends and family when I pass by many cops for them to be careful. I've not been arrested for it. Please show me the law where it is illegal to broadcast speed traps.
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Section 390.13 of the Federal Motor Carrier's Safety Handbook states that it's illegal to aid and abett a violation. Speeding is a violation. Reporting the location of law enforcement officers is illegal. I've been ticketed for it, in Colorado, in fact.
 
dirtpoorchris said:
I wonder then... If I state the location of a DUI checkpoint and some random drunkard heard it. Avoided the checkpoint and accidentally killed someone with his car. Would I be criminally responsible?
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I believe you'd be doing a civic duty.
 
apdst said:
If that's what he did, then yep, it's illegal. It's been illegal for years now. It's called, "aiding and abetting a crime".
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I would like to point out that I have heard of cases where a person helped a criminal directly though unintentially and got arrested for aiding and abetting a crime..don't know if they were ever convicted...but have heard of it.

I would think that this twitter thing would fall along those lines...depending on how the guy phrased his twitters.
 
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