To read the private Facebook messages, wouldn't this require access to PRISM or a like-developed system? I thought that was supposed to be used for National Security purposes only? I thought private communications of US persons were to be considered private for criminal investigations under ALL circumstances by law? This reminds me of that research that found that if you liked a specific "coffee" page (it was just generic coffee, but apparently there are like 20 generic coffee likes), you were more likely to have high IQ than the average person. They found out how it worked, it was because the person who created the page liked it, and shared it to their group of friends only, then it spiraled out from there. That being said, I would actually like to see his arrest report to know for sure that what a teenager said was actually factually accurate. Not sure how he knows that it's by his Facebook likes/comments alone, that's the sort of secret thing they wouldn't tell a suspect about.The operation often entails reading private Facebook messages between friends and is sometimes coupled with phone and video surveillance.
One teenager, Jelani Henry, said he was held in Rikers for nearly three years simply because of his associations on Facebook and his likes and comments on various Facebook posts.
In this instance I read private messages as intimate conversation, so wall post conversations etc. It sets a pretty worrying precedent, it's easy to see this being used against anyone speaking out or reporting on police activity. Hell, they could probably claim these messages cause emotional harm and evoke terror and then any message is criminal.
I'm not sure whether this applies to all of the specific cases discussed but surely most people would agree that some of these threats are, or at least should be, illegal? I know the US loves the notion of 'free speech' but if you're publicly posting a picture of you pointing a gun at a police car with a caption, "Should I do it?", that seems like a credible threat to me. If I was just looking online and I saw a picture of a gun aimed at me with the caption, "Should I do it?", I'd seriously hope that there is something illegal about that which the guy could be charged and arrested for. The question must then be where to draw the line, rather than suggesting that the entire approach is wrong. Like if a guy was arrested for "liking" some of those comments, then that seems maybe over the line to me. But threatening someone, whether in real life or online, seems like it should be a crime to me. I don't see how it could be described as "dissenting speech". Obviously it seems stupid that they're focusing so much time and effort on cutting down verbal threats to police when they can't sort out the police actually physically assaulting and murdering black people though, so I can see why some people would be angry at this particular blitz and its timing.