Acquittal of man who urged violence against Trump puts First Amendment in spotlight
The First Amendment won out this week in a court case over a man who repeatedly called for President Donald Trump’s assassination and openly fantasized about his violent demise. A...
By Fox News · Fox News
The First Amendment won out this week in a court case over a man who repeatedly called for President Donald Trump’s assassination and openly fantasized about his violent demise. A jury acquitted the man, Peter Stinson, of one charge of soliciting a crime of violence, raising questions about when speech is protected by the Constitution and when it becomes incriminating. A former longtime Coast Guard officer, Stinson called for someone to "take the shot" in reference to Trump, according to court papers. "Realistically the only solution is violence," Stinson wrote. Stinson said he "would twist the knife after sliding it into [Trump’s] fatty flesh" and that he "would be willing to pitch in" for a hitman contract. TED CRUZ SAYS HATE SPEECH 'ABSOLUTELY' PROTECTED BY FIRST AMENDMENT FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK'S ASSASSINATION "He wants us dead. I can say the same thing about him," Stinson wrote in another post during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. A witness for the defense, Professor Jen Golbeck of the University of Maryland, said people "rooting for Trump to die online" is common. "On one hand, I would not encourage anyone to post those thoughts on social media," Golbeck said, according to the Washington Post . "On the other hand, I can’t count the number of people who I saw post similar things. ... It’s a very common sentiment. There’s social media accounts dedicated to tracking whether Trump has died." Brennen VanderVeen, program counsel with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said that one issue with the charges in Stinson’s case was that it was not clear whom Stinson was soliciting to carry out the crime. "Solicitation is when it’s directly tied to the crime. So, if he contacts an actual hit man and tries to arrange some sort of hit contract, that’s solicitation," VanderVeen told Fox News Digital. "Without more … that probably does not meet the elements of actual solicitation." Stinson's attorneys argued in court documents that their client's posts…