Senator Rand Paul Attempts to Have Independent Journalist Arrested and Stripped of Press Pass. According to an interview conducted by WeAreChange.org’s Luke Rudkowski and journalist Abby Martin of MediaRoots.org, the Senator of Kentucky, Rand Paul got overly angered a month ago after the two journalists questioned him on the endorsement of Goldman Sachs candidate, Mitt Romney.
Read more »A North Georgia chapter of the Ku Klux Klan has applied to "adopt" a stretch of highway in Union County, Georgia, according to paperwork obtained by CNN on Monday. The application, which would allow the white supremacy group to receive state recognition for cleaning up a one-mile portion of a highway, was filed by the International Keystone Knights of the KKK on May 21. If the Georgia Department of Transportation accepts the application, the KKK would be responsible for cleaning litter on a part of Georgia State Route 515 in the Appalachian Mountains near the North Carolina border.
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FINDLAY -- A man now faces charges after an April Fool's gag goes wrong. Police charged Robert Leonard with disorderly conduct for allegedly panicking the community with a Facebook post.
Leonard wrote Findlay was under attack and the Army was surrounding the town as a joke on April Fool's Day. He now faces a $1,500 fine. Leonard says it's crazy he's actually being charged and might choose to go to jail instead of paying the fine.
Read more »A Kuwaiti court sentenced a man to two years in prison for insulting the country’s ruler on Twitter, a lawyer following the case said, as the Gulf Arab state cracks down on criticism of the authorities on social media. According to the verdict on Sunday — published by online newspaper Alaan — a tweet written by Rashid Saleh al-Anzi in October “stabbed the rights and powers of the Emir” Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. Anzi, who has 5,700 Twitter followers, was expected to appeal the verdict, said the lawyer, who asked not to be named.
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A 20-year-old St. Louis Park man was charged today in Hennepin County District Court with one count of making a terroristic threat for allegedly posting a picture on his Facebook page of a tattoo on his left biceps that depicts a pig wearing a police hat and uniform, as well as the name of the officer on the uniform patch.
Read more »A northeast Kansas newspaper has been ordered to identify a person who posted a comment on its website about a story on a murder trial for which that commenter was serving as a juror.
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Using overly burdensome ballot access laws, Oklahoma has effectively banned political dissent at the polls.
Read more »One jailed member of the punk band Pussy Riot unexpectedly walked free from a Moscow courtroom, but the other two now head toward a harsh punishment for their irreverent protest against President Vladimir Putin: a penal colony.
Read more »A Lancashire man who posted offensive comments on Facebook about a missing five-year-old has been jailed for 12 weeks.
Read more »"The board made it clear that talking about diet without a license is a crime and they could take me to court."
Read more »Oslo, Norway (CNN) -- Here's a quick way to get arrested in modern Russia: Walk into a cathedral wearing a neon mask and carrying a guitar, stand on the pulpit and scream punk songs with lyrics like "Virgin Mary drive Putin away!" Throw in a few more obscenities, and that's how three members of the punk band Pussy Riot ended up in Russian prison in early March, after criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin, who the group says is in bed with the Russian Orthodox Church and is unfairly cracking down on free speech.
Read more »The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for the Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.
After Benghazi, IRS tea party probe: Govt seized AP phone records
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/benghazi-irs-tea-party-probe-govt-sei...
The statement below was read by Pfc. Bradley Manning at a providence inquiry for his formal plea of guilty to one specification as charged and nine specifications for lesser included offenses. He pled not guilty to 12 other specifications. This rush transcript was taken by journalist Alexa O’Brien at Thursday’s pretrial hearing. O’Brien provided Salon with the full transcript.
Read more »Daniel Brewington was not happy with the way that Dearborn County, Indiana, Judge James D. Humphrey handled his divorce case, during which he lost custody of his children, and he explained why at length in various strongly worded online commentaries. Largely as a result of those posts, Brewington is serving a two-year sentence at the Putnamville Correctional Facility for intimidation, attempted obstruction of justice, and perjury.
Read more »German Christian family could have children taken away in desire to immigrate into America to be able to homeschool. Justice Dept. arguing that homeschooling is not a fundamental right.
Read more »The Oregon teen who was arrested after he posted a ‘Drivin drunk’ status update on his Facebook page New Year’s Day says it was all a misunderstanding.
Read more »The Foundation For Individual Rights In Education(FIRE) surveyed 409 schools and found 6 out of 10 maintain severely restrictive 'red-light' speech codes.
Read more »Louisiana woman in dispute with neighbors says F---you with Christmas light message. Police officer says it violates city obscenity statute... which doesn't exist. ACLU helps her in court. She's harassed by neighbors and police with other petty citations.
Read more »Katherine Olejnik and Matt Duran Have Not Been Charged with Any Crime, and Yet They Have Been Locked Up for Three Months and Counting.
Read more »Free speech? Pfft! This kid says something stupid on Facebook and then winds up in jail with $100k bond. He's charged with "inducing panic". Really? Where's the riot?
"Ignorant free speech often works against the speaker. That is one of several reasons why it must be given rein instead of suppressed."
--Anna Quindlen
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