Satire.
Satire is a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule. It intends to improve the humanity by criticizing its follies and foibles. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon and as a tool to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. A satirist can direct the satire toward one individual, a whole country or even the world.
Threatening to kill an individual, is not satire. Threatening to blow a building up , is not satire. It may be a "free speech exercise" but guess what, the joke is on you because with "free speech" comes responsibility.
We already have one case before the Supreme Court dealing with this issue of what constitutes free speech and what constitutes criminal threats. Why not make it two.
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A 22-year-old Indiana man is facing both state and federal charges after allegedly posting a rambling message on Facebook in which he claimed ties to Las Vegas cop killers Jerad and Amanda Miller, made death threats against state judges and law enforcement officers, and warned that a local courthouse would be "blown to pieces within the month" -- before claiming that it had all been written as satire.
In federal charges unsealed Monday, Samuel Bradbury, of Pine Village, Ind., was accused of using interstate communications to make threats and willfully threatening to use explosives. That's in addition to four Class C felony intimidation charges Bradbury faces in state court. Bradbury could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the federal charges alone.
According to an FBI affidavit written in support of the federal charges, Bradbury posted threats to kill West Lafayette, Ind. police officer Troy Greene, Tippecanoe County Sheriff Tracy Brown, Tippecanoe County Judge Les Meade, and Indiana Supreme Court Loretta Rush on Facebook on June 19.
In a long post, reprinted in the affidavit, Bradbury allegedly claimed ties to the Millers, former Indiana residents who earlier this month killed three people, including two police officers, in Las Vegas before killing themselves. At the end his post, Bradbury wrote: "FREE SPEECH EXERCISE FOOLS." But above that disclaimer, Bradbury wrote that he ran a local anarchist "cop killing" group that had counted the Millers among its members -- until the group discovered the Millers were police informants.
'Free Speech Exercise' Brings Charges For Man Who Claimed Ties To Vegas Shooters
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