Why Federal Prosecutors Say A Nashville Man's Threats To Police Go Beyond Free Speech

A Nashville man could serve five years in prison for making violent threats against Tennessee law enforcement, even though some of what he said and posted online is protected by the First Amendment.

Robert Ellis Waddey pleaded guilty this week to posting an Instagram picture in 2015, of a pistol, with a Tennessee Highway Patrol car in the background. The caption read “gonna die lookin at his computer.”

The 22-year-old said the car was actually empty at the time. Which means the picture could technically fall under freedom of speech. Not simply because that allows people — to a point — to shoot their mouth off stupidly, says Ken Paulson. The head of the First Amendment Center in Nashville says the law is pretty clear.

"You have to intend to threaten {someone}," says Paulson. "You don’t have to actually intend to harm them; you have to intend to threaten them. And then you have to actually have a specific enough person that that person will feel fear."

Read more: http://nashvillepublicradio.org/post/why-federal-prosecutors-say-nashville-mans-threats-police-go-beyond-free-speech