Appeals Court Rules Call to 'Shoot' Obama Protected Speech
An appeals court in California has overturned a man's two convictions for threatening to assassinate President Obama. The grounds? Freedom of speech.
Under U.S. law, it is illegal to threaten harm against a major presidential candidate. But the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Walter Bagdasarian's threats did not cross the legal line because he didn't appear to have the "intent" to carry them out.
While calling the defendant an "especially unpleasant fellow," the court found that the two comments for which he was convicted could not be deemed serious.
In 2008, two weeks before Barack Obama was elected the first black president in this nation's history, a California man posted violent, racist messages about Obama on an online message board:Bagdasarian joined the discussion. He called Obama a "n-----" and said "he will have a 50 cal in the head soon." He posted another comment 20 minutes later that said "shoot the n--."
The Secret Service tracked down this individual as you might imagine - a guy named Walter Bagdasarian - within weeks. He had a .50-caliber rifle and five other guns and ammunition in his possession when they found him. He was arrested, and after waiving his right to a jury trial, Bagdasarian was convicted by a federal judge of two felonies for threatening to kill a presidential candidate.
But Wednesday, a court of appeals in - wait for it - San Francisco overturned that decision.
In a 2-to-1 ruling, the court said his actions were protected by the First Amendment and that while his words were "alarming and dangerous," they were not illegal. The court also said Bagdasarian expressed no intent to act on his words himself.
Prosecutors can now ask the appeals court for a rehearing or appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
After Bagdasarian was initially convicted in 2009, he apologized for his actions and said he had posted the messages while drunk. Apparently in his mind that made it OK. He was sentenced to two months in a halfway house in addition to the 24 days he had already served in jail.
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Under U.S. law, it is illegal to threaten harm against a major presidential candidate. But the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Walter Bagdasarian's threats did not cross the legal line because he didn't appear to have the "intent" to carry them out.
While calling the defendant an "especially unpleasant fellow," the court found that the two comments for which he was convicted could not be deemed serious.
In 2008, two weeks before Barack Obama was elected the first black president in this nation's history, a California man posted violent, racist messages about Obama on an online message board:Bagdasarian joined the discussion. He called Obama a "n-----" and said "he will have a 50 cal in the head soon." He posted another comment 20 minutes later that said "shoot the n--."
The Secret Service tracked down this individual as you might imagine - a guy named Walter Bagdasarian - within weeks. He had a .50-caliber rifle and five other guns and ammunition in his possession when they found him. He was arrested, and after waiving his right to a jury trial, Bagdasarian was convicted by a federal judge of two felonies for threatening to kill a presidential candidate.
But Wednesday, a court of appeals in - wait for it - San Francisco overturned that decision.
In a 2-to-1 ruling, the court said his actions were protected by the First Amendment and that while his words were "alarming and dangerous," they were not illegal. The court also said Bagdasarian expressed no intent to act on his words himself.
Prosecutors can now ask the appeals court for a rehearing or appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
After Bagdasarian was initially convicted in 2009, he apologized for his actions and said he had posted the messages while drunk. Apparently in his mind that made it OK. He was sentenced to two months in a halfway house in addition to the 24 days he had already served in jail.
Source