Hate Crime Hoax Could Be Constitutionally Unprotected True Threat
From today’s decision by Judge Regina M. Rodriguez (D. Colo.) in U.S. v. Bernard:
Colorado Springs, Colorado, held an election for mayor …. CANDIDATE 1 [Yemi Mobolade -EV] is black and CANDIDATE 2 [Wayne W. Williams -EV] is white…. Defendants supported CANDIDATE 1. The Indictment alleges that the Defendants devised a plan to help CANDIDATE 1 win the runoff election. In the early morning hours [three weeks before the election], the Defendants defaced a political sign with CANDIDATE 1’s name on it by using red spray paint to write the N-word on it. The Defendants then staged a burning cross in front of the sign and videotaped it.
Later that same day, the Defendants created a fake email account, posing as a concerned citizen, and sent the video, along with an email referring to hate crimes, to media outlets and CANDIDATE 1’s campaign. {The email described what was depicted in the video—”To my surprise and disgust it was a cross on fire in front of running candidate’s sign for Mayor. Looking past the flames I see it’s Yemi Mobalade’s sign with the word sprayed painted across in red ‘NIGGER’!” The email also included language regarding hate-crime tactics used to harass and intimidate candidates and voters in elections.} According to Defendant Bernard, Defendants’ actions were “specifically designed to generate vot
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