
Jul 31, 2022 • 42M
A Thousand Ways to Kill You
He called it artistic expression. The government called it a threat. When does free speech go too far?
Celebrating the accidental guardians of the First Amendment. For regular updates on the legal stories that shape our lives, visit unprecedented.substack.com.
Anthony Elonis wrote a series of Facebook posts describing gory fantasies of revenge, often in the form of rap lyrics, against his estranged wife and others. He was later convicted of violating a federal law that prohibits such threats and was sentenced to more than three years in prison. Elonis claimed he was merely venting and using an established art form — just like Eminem — and that the First Amendment protects violent speech. When does free speech go too far? Listen to the Season 1 finale of Unprecedented.
Prefer to read this episode? Click below for a transcript!
A Thousand Ways to Kill You
I'm with Nina. Elonis isn't exercising rights [that should be] protected under the 1st Amendment, and Citizens are less free when people like Elonis are allowed to act without restraint. Looks like he's since been charged with cyberstalking. What entertainer needs to privately harass non-public figures? I'd bet that if you'd interview the jury that convicted Elonis in 2010, some of them would say that they did think that he intended to threaten his wife and the FBI agent, regardless of the judge's instructions.