Raids Arrest Suspected Cyberrasists

[Mr. Dictator]

Le Beeb

Five men and a 15-year-old youth have been arrested in East Renfrewshire and Glasgow after anti-Semitic remarks were posted on social network site Facebook.

Almost 50 police officers raided seven addresses after complaints from members of the Jewish community in Giffnock.

It followed a number of offensive posts on a page entitled: "Welcome to Israel, only kidding you're in Giffnock."

The six people arrested were charged with a breach of the peace with religious and racial aggravations.

I can sort of understand the arrests here, if the comments were bad enough, sort of. I can't really wrap my head around 50 pigs raiding homes over this.

Then again, maybe it was one of those "we'll raid and arrest you to show you how easily we could raid and arrest you over this" debacles.

 

[emzie]

Please tell me the page entitled that actually contained something offensive. It had to have right? They can't possibly have done a raid over the title alone....

edit:

google found me a bit more detail...

The page's profile picture was a photograph of the late Rev Ernest Levy, a Holocaust survivor and a prominent Glasgow communal leader.
Its creator joked: "They have a Gaelic translation in the train station, Hebrew would have been more appropriate."
Fans of the page posted comments ranging from "Jewish scum" to "F*** the Jewish Zionist" while another person wrote: "Hebrew is not needed in the train station [because] all the Jews are f***ing rich c**** they have gold plated Bentleys."
Five adults and a child have now been charged with a breach of the peace with religious and racial aggravations.

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/67688/six-charged-over-facebook-abuse-giffnock-jews

Okay so the quotes are kinda bad but arrests? Seriously?

 

[Dreadnought]

That's it, folks. Now the government can arrest you for what you say on Facebook.

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

In Scotland. Although if the UK's doing it, it's only a matter of time until America gets with the program too. Arrest everyone! How dare you say something offensive!

 

[Skwink]

That's it, folks. Now the government can arrest you for what you say on Facebook.

Not here though, we have better free speech.

 

[kramerfan86]

That's rather disturbing that the government will actually arrest people for non-threats, just for racism. Racism is deplorable, but this sort of restriction of speech is even more disturbing to me.

 

[Core Imposter]

Odds are strong that I'll be among the first Americans arrested for foul speech early in the Obaminator's second term.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

Odds are strong that I'll be among the first Americans arrested for foul speech early in the Obaminator's second term.

Its like...a million browsers bookmarking at once.

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

Odds are strong that I'll be among the first Americans arrested for foul speech early in the Obaminator's second term.

The funny thing is you think you're serious.

 

[Dreadnought]

Odds are strong that I'll be among the first Americans arrested for foul speech early in the Obaminator's second term.

There'll be no second term.

 

[Turquoiside]

Odds are strong that I'll be among the first Americans arrested for foul speech early in the Obaminator's second term.

Are you lost, or did you just read the title and not bother with the article?

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

Odds are strong that I'll be among the first Americans arrested for foul speech early in the Obaminator's second term.

So you agree, then, that Obama will get a second term?

Good to know.

 

[JollyRoger]

Odds are strong that I'll be among the first Americans arrested for foul speech early in the Obaminator's second term.

You won't be arrested, just detained. I have been appointed as an Enhanced Interrogation Specialist at FEMA Camp #18 of Mid-South Collin County, Texas and have been assured you will be assigned to my oversight.

 

[kramerfan86]

Odds are strong that I'll be among the first Americans arrested for foul speech early in the Obaminator's second term.

Nah tends to be your american taliban friends hoping for the christian republic who are into censoring "indecency".

 

[Leonel]

Odds are strong that I'll be among the first Americans arrested for foul speech early in the Obaminator's second term.

How much are you willing to wager that it won't happen and that you'll look as silly as those liberals who thought Bush would enact a theocratic dictatorship on his second term? I'm willing to put up a grand.

 

[bernie14]

Surprise, surprise!! .....

 

[The_J]

Hey, you can even get sentenced to jail for such things, e.g. BBC: Fabrice Muamba: Racist Twitter user jailed for 56 days.

 

[woody60707]

Maybe it's because I live in the US, but I can't warp my head around this. Don't they have something along the right to free speech.

 

[aelf]

That's it, folks. Now the government can arrest you for what you say on Facebook.

 

[BvBPL]

Maybe it's because I live in the US, but I can't warp my head around this. Don't they have something along the right to free speech.

No.

Speech rights in the UK are codified legislatively whereas speech rights in the US are constitutional. Meaning speech rights in the UK can change with the wind.

The Public Order Act makes it illegal to make statements that incite to violence or cause "harassment, alarm or distress." This has been taken to mean that insults are illegal.