US Attorney: Anti-Muslim Postings on Social Media May Be a Federal Crime

Via Judicial Watch, Bill Killian, the US Attorney for the Eastern district of Tennessee, just wants Americans to know what the consequences for free speech might be.

Special speakers for the event will be Bill Killian, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Kenneth Moore, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Knoxville Division.

Sponsor of the event is the American Muslim Advisory Council of Tennessee — a 15-member board formed two years ago when the General Assembly was considering passing legislation that would restrict those who worship Sharia Law, which is followed by Muslims.

Killian and Moore will provide input on how civil rights can be violated by those who post inflammatory documents targeted at Muslims on social media.

“This is an educational effort with civil rights laws as they play into freedom of religion and exercising freedom of religion,” Killian told The News Monday. “This is also to inform the public what federal laws are in effect and what the consequences are.”

Killian said the presentation will also focus on Muslim culture and how, that although terrorist acts have been committed by some in the faith, they are no different from those in other religions.

...

He then cited the three non-Muslim terrorists acts they can never stop talking about.

Apparently he also babbled about how the US Government, law enforcement, and non-Muslim Americans are fostering an "us versus them" attitude.

See, we're doing that.

I might say that the "us versus them" attitude certainly seems to be fostered within the Muslim community itself, but I can't, because, as you'll see, US Attorney Bill Killian wants me to know he might put me in jail for saying that.

Killian said Internet postings that violate civil rights are subject to federal jurisdiction.

“That’s what everybody needs to understand,” he said.

The specific posting he mentioned was pretty egregious -- a picture of a guy holding a shotgun with the caption "How to Wink at a Muslim."

Nevertheless, what we have here is a US Attorney telling Americans that they can be arrested and imprisoned for the exercise of their First Amendment rights.

In the aftermath of the Woolrich slaughter in England, the British police immediately arrested... a man for making anti-Muslim comments on Twitter.

And I thought, "Ah well, that's Britain. They're doomed, but we already knew that."

But here we are in America, with one of the 100 or so US federal appointed Attorneys telling Americans that the federal government may lock them up for their internet postings.

via @jtlol

posted by Ace at 10:49 AM

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