The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found a Lousiana law criminalizing threats against public officials was an unconstitutional restriction on free speech rights. Police officers had arrested two men for threats to get them fired. “To be sure, it [the Louisiana law] covers a large swath of unprotected speech,” wrote the judge for the majority, “including true threats and core criminal speech, such as extortion and threats to engage in truly defamatory speech made with actual malice. But the statute plainly reaches further.” (The Advocate, August 6, 2018, by Caroline Grueskin)
In a landmark case in ruling in 1974, the Supreme Court struck down a New Orleans ordinance threat made it unlawful to use “obscene or opprobrious language” when speaking to a police officer. But arrests for such language continue. In Pennsylvania police officers often bring charges for “ethnic intimidation,” under a version of a hate crime ordinance. (Freedom of the Press Foundation, July 31, 2018, by Camille Fassett)