His Words Were So Terrifying the Supreme Court Got Involved

Billy Raymond Counterman eventually wound up in prison after stalking a musician and sending threatening messages. Now he’s claiming it’s a First Amendment issue.

the case focuses on the true threats doctrine and the right of speakers to invoke First Amendment protection for speech that puts the target in fear of life or limb.The posts, sometimes accompanied by pictures, clearly indicate a man obsessed with his target:“I’m currently unsupervised. I know, it freaks me out too, but the possibilities are endless.”“Fuck off permanently.”“You’re not being good for human relations. Die. Don’t need you.”The artist, identified in court documents as C.W.

Counterman appealed his conviction defending his Facebook posts as pure speech, which are protected against criminal prosecution by the First Amendment. The state appeals court found that, in context, the posts indicated Counterman felt entitled to C.W.’s attention not just online but in person as well. Additionally, in his more agitated posts, the court found that Counterman evidenced a disregard for his victim’s life.

True threats are one of only a very few categories of speech to which the First Amendment offers no sanctuary. The First Amendment requires tolerance of fear and hate. The constitutional philosophy undergirding the First Amendment is that the best remedy to bad speech is more speech.

The criminalization of true threat speech is not aimed at crude or offensive speech; it is not directed at vitriolic or

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