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publishing something on facebook is the same as writing a newspaper editorial. nothing is private.
A marine turned conspiracy theorist was detained for psychological evaluation after posting rants on Facebook. He has since been ordered to remain in a mental facility for at least 30 days. From the article:
I suspect being a former marine and threatening to decapitate military officials might have had something to do with this (communicating specific threats?). But then again, his Facebook page was reportedly private, and according to the AP newswire: "The big concern, Whitehead said, is whether government officials are monitoring citizens' private Facebook pages and detaining people with whom they disagree.""There are conspiracy theorists who believe 9/11 was an inside job. I don't really follow that news, but can people be arrested after saying so online, exercising their First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech? On August 16, the FBI, Secret Service and the Chesterfield Police arrested a decorated former U.S. Marine for 'airing his critical views of the U.S. government on Facebook.' On Facebook, Raub talked about the Illuminati, a shadow organization in which 'some of the leaders were involved with the bombing of the twin towers' and the 'great amount of evil perpetrated by the American Government.' He said people may think he was going crazy, but a 'civil war,' the 'Revolution' is coming. 'I'm starting the Revolution. I'm done waiting.' On July 24, he said he was at a 'great crossroads. As if a storm of destiny is about to pick me up and take me to fight a great battle.' On August 9 he talked about severing heads and told the generals he was coming for them. On August 13, he wrote, 'Sharpen up my axe; I'm here to sever heads.' On August 14, Raub wrote, 'The Revolution will come for me. Men will be at my door soon to pick me up to lead it.'"
publishing something on facebook is the same as writing a newspaper editorial. nothing is private.
Well, he did make some direct alarming threats to go after people on his facebook page. I don't think Mouse or Cosmored need worry. they don't make threats against US government personnel.
these hoes in washington need to go
The government is probably justified in seeking to detain this nutjob
Agreed, tell someone in person if you want in between you and them, anything and everything on the net can be accessed ultimately. Cosmored and Mouse are in trouble if saying 9/11 is a conspiracy on the net is not allowed
it was all good till he talked about killing people
good in terms of first ammendment, not theconspiracy
A judge on Thursday ordered the release of a former Marine who was detained for psychiatric evaluation after posting strident anti-government messages on Facebook.
Prince George County Circuit Judge W. Allan Sharrett said at the end of a one-hour hearing that the involuntary commitment order issued by a magistrate against Brandon J. Raub was invalid because it contained no allegation or basis to hold him, according to the head of a civil liberties organization that represented the 26-year-old veteran.
"This is a great victory," Rutherford Ins ute executive director John Whitehead said. "He's a good human being. He just got caught in some weird bureaucratic meanderings and the judge recognized that there's really no true facts to hold this man in a psychiatric ward."
Raub was released from the Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center late Thursday and was on his way back to his home in the Richmond area, a Rutherford Ins ute spokeswoman said. Both Raub and his mother, Cathleen Thomas, were unavailable for comment.
Raub, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was taken into custody Aug. 16 after being questioned by Chesterfield County police and federal agents about his Facebook posts.
The FBI said the interview was prompted by complaints from people who read his ominous posts, including some that spoke of a pending revolution. One said "a day of reckoning" was coming, and another said: "Sharpen my axe; I'm here to sever heads."
Onlookers shot a video of Raub being led away from his home in handcuffs and posted it on You Tube, fueling a groundswell of support for the veteran and criticism that the government was trampling on his free-speech rights. The Charlottesville-based Rutherford Ins ute came to his defense, characterizing the government's actions as those of a police state. Raub was not charged with a crime.
"Brandon Raub was arrested with no warning, targeted for doing nothing more than speaking out against the government, detained against his will, and isolated from his family, friends and attorneys," Whitehead said. "These are the kinds of things that take place in totalitarian societies. Today, at least, Judge Allan Sharrett proved that justice can still prevail in America."
He called Raub's release a victory for the First Amendment.
"People a have right to go on Facebook or the Internet (and) say things that people might not agree with, "Whitehead said. "But that doesn't mean they're crazy or should be incarcerated for it."
Raub initially was taken the John Randolph Medical Center in Hopewell, where he was held over the weekend for a preliminary evaluation. After a hearing Monday, another judge ordered Raub detained for an additional month and transferred him to the Salem VA hospital.
Thursday's hearing was expected to be limited to Raub's objection to the transfer, so Whitehead said Sharrett's decision came as a surprise.
"The pe ion is so devoid of any factual allegations that it could not be reasonably expected to give rise to a case or controversy," the order says.
you can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride
They probably did go too far. I would say they had reason for a warrant, but unless they found something more alarming, this shouldn't have happened.
the judge found no factual basis for the detention, but I guess you would know better
No, I don't know the details. The facebook page was alarming, but that is as much as we know. If that's all they had on him, then he is simply a nutcase. Harmless if they didn't find anything past his words.
thanks for the update... now if this guy snaps tomorrow, I'm sure we'll hear all about activist judges... in the meantime, good news for out first amendment rights
yet another dumbass!
http://reason.com/blog/2012/08/23/ju...man-imprisonedIn the April 2011 issue of Reason, I warned that loosening the rules for civil commitment, as various pundits urged in the wake of Jared Lee Loughner's shooting rampage in Tucson, would sweep up many nonviolent cranks who pose no threat to public safety. The Raub case gives you a sense of how that might happen, except that he might still be imprisoned for his disturbing opinions if the reforms recommended by the stop-them-before-they-kill crowd had been implemented. I suspect the guy who came to fix my sprinkler system yesterday, who after I paid the bill shared some startling information about extraterrestrials, ancient civilizations, and Nazi weapons, would be a target as well.
Now may be an appropriate time to revisit the ongoing Cato Unbound debate about coercive psychiatry, which I mentioned two weeks ago. Since then a bunch of new posts have been added, including comments by Amanda Pustilnik, Allen Frances, Jeffrey Schaler, D.J. Jaffe, Ronald Pies, and yours truly. Jaffe's contribution may be of particular interest, since he argues that making commitment easier is a libertarian reform.
couldn't agree more with the le of that blog post: you can't lock people up or commit them to psychiatric hospitals just because they have scary political opinions.
the whole police taking him in for psychiatric evaluation has a distinctly Soviet flavor to it
i dunno what revolution his talkin about thats going to bring change
when u have 16t in debt
starting wars with countries who have no business putting up a fight, replacing govts with muppets who have no credibility for the position, who later on become ur enemy..
lol arab spring taken over by muslim brotherhood
the revolution he's talking about is brewing right here at home. and it's not just a couple of conspiracy theorists saber rattling. it's respected judges and , congressman. we're fed up.
This is the instrument of your liberation
Raub called his government corrupt, but what in particular did he expose?
Saying = proving.
Duh.
(besides his own passionate political take)
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