Pull my knife, flick my wrist and slit her throat.'. Elonis v. US (Amicus Brief) - Genius | Song Lyrics & Knowledge When Elonis’ wife took their kids and left him, he started to act out on Facebook. The case has drawn widespread attention from free-speech advocates who say comments on Facebook, Twitter and other social media can be hasty, impulsive and easily misinterpreted. The case is Elonis v. United States, 13-983. Pull my knife, flick my wrist and slit her throat.". Elonis claims he was depressed and that his online posts under the pseudonym 'Tone Dougie' were a way to vent his frustration after his wife left him and he lost his job working at an amusement park. But the court has been careful to distinguish threats from protected speech such as "political hyperbole" or "unpleasantly sharp attacks.". But Elonis' wife testified that the comments made her fear for her life. Shortly after his wife decided to leave him, 28-year-old Anthony Elonis, under the pseudonym “Tone Dougie,” began posting “self-styled ‘rap’ lyrics” on Facebook that contained “graphically violent language and imagery” concerning, among others, his estranged wife, a kindergarten class, and state and federal law enforcement. Pennsylvania man Anthony Elonis posted Facebook messages, written in the form of rap lyrics, that talked about killing his wife, knifing a female FBI agent and shooting schoolchildren in 2010. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Neither did a federal jury. I'm not going to rest until your body is a mess, soaked in blood and dying from all the little cuts.'. After she obtained a protective order against him, Elonis wrote a lengthy post mocking court proceedings: 'Did you know that it's illegal for me to say I want to kill my wife? The case involves Pennsylvania resident Anthony Elonis, who was sentenced to four years in prison for posting explicit rap lyrics in which he threatened to murder his estranged wife, shoot up elementary schools and slit the throat of an FBI agent who was investigating his case. Protests will be legal from March 29: Updated Covid rules will ALLOW peaceful demonstrations in the wake of... At least nine cars in car park used by NHS workers are vandalised by thugs with their windows smashed during... Hunt for vicious prowler who tried to hood a PREGNANT Jewish woman in alley: CCTV shows thug throw pillow... Telegraph owner Sir Frederick Barclay's marriage to wife Lady Hiroko ends after judge rules on size of her... Five phrases you should NEVER say to your single friends because they're subtly designed to 'shame' -... 'Huge explosion' at secondary school sparks blaze and sends massive pillar of smoke billowing into the sky... Supreme Court agrees to hear the government's appeal to reinstate Boston Bomber's death sentence. Anthony Elonis claimed he was just kidding when he posted a series of graphically violent rap lyrics on Facebook about killing his estranged wife, shooting up a kindergarten class and attacking an FBI agent. He was charged with the federal crime of making threats over interstate lines. Defendant Anthony Elonis' 2010 Facebook rants concerned attacks on an elementary school, his estranged wife, and even the FBI. In a far-reaching case that probes the limits of free speech over the Internet, the Supreme Court on Monday was to consider whether Elonis' Facebook posts, and others like it, deserve protection under the First Amendment. Anthony Elonis, whose wife and family just left him, started writing violent rap lyrics on Facebook. I'm not going to rest until your body is a mess, soaked in blood and dying from all the little cuts.". In controversy were the purported threats of violent rap lyrics written by Anthony Douglas Elonis and posted to Facebook under a pseudonym. Anthony Elonis, 31, was convicted in 2011 of five counts of interstate communication of threats. Anthony Elonis claimed he was just kidding when he posted a series of graphically violent rap lyrics on Facebook about killing his estranged wife, … The Supreme Court will decide whether his intent mattered. A federal appeals court rejected his claim that his comments were protected by the First Amendment. The government says it does not matter what Elonis intended, and that the true test of a threat is whether his words make a reasonable person feel threatened. Neither did a federal jury. These rants expressed violence and killings. In its brief to the court, the Justice Department argued that no matter what someone believes about his comments, it does not lessen the fear and anxiety they might cause for other people. But so far, most lower courts have rejected that view, ruling that a "true threat" depends on how an objective person perceives the message. Anthony Elonis, a Pennsylvania man in the midst of losing his job and his wife, turned to Facebook to write violent rap lyrics under the pseudonym Tone Dougie. He was subsequently arrested in December 2010 after his estranged wife and law enforcement found his lyrics were threatening. Elonis began "listening to more violent music" and posting self-styled "rap" lyrics inspired by the music. If this celebrity can utter such words, Elonis pleads, amateurs like him should be … The Obama administration says requiring proof that a speaker intended to be threatening would undermine the law's protective purpose. To make this point, his brief includes a lengthy excerpt from the lyrics of a rap song in which a very well-compensated rapper imagines killing his ex-wife and dumping her body in a lake. A jury convicted him on those counts, and Elonis was sentenced to … ', A female FBI agent later visited Elonis at home to ask him about the postings. Rap lyrics are often deemed autobiographical, even if the rapper composed them under a different name. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. It doesn't add up! Anthony Elonis says his Facebook rants about killing his wife were supposed to be rap lyrics. The ACLU filed an amicus brief in support of the petitioner. The Obama administration says requiring proof that a speaker intended to be threatening would undermine the law's protective purpose. The Court threw out the conviction of a man charged with posting threatening rap lyrics to Facebook. But the court has been careful to distinguish threats from protected speech such as 'political hyperbole' or 'unpleasantly sharp attacks.'. Elonis claims he was just kidding when he wrote the lyrics and that they should be protected by the First Amendment to free speech. 'A statute that proscribes speech without regard to the speaker's intended meaning runs the risk of punishing protected First Amendment expression simply because it is crudely or zealously expressed,' said a brief from the American Liberties Union and other groups. Elonis, who's from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was convicted of violating a federal law that makes it a crime to threaten another person. Elonis argues that his lyrics were simply a crude and spontaneous form of expression that should not be considered threatening if he did not really mean it. The U.S. Supreme Court will review Elonis' case on Monday. Under a pseudonym “Tone Dougie” used on the social media website Facebook, Elonis, after his wife left him, posted self-styled rap lyrics (University). Due to some graphic language, reader discretion is advised. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Page that his ex-wife requiring proof that a speaker intended to be threatening would undermine law. 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