Police Arrest 19 Year Old for ‘Malicious Communication’

Gumshoe has posted several articles on the law and the synchronised strategy to limit free speech. It is interesting to note that Northumbria police arrested Ross Loraine (from Sunderland) on charges of “malicious communication” for allegedly tweeting: “So a bin lorry has apparently driven in 100 people in Glasgow eh, probably the most trash it’s picked up in one day”

Floral tributes (Glasgow)

The garbage truck (lorry) had careened out of control and ploughed into Glasgow Christmas shoppers – killing six people and injuring ten.

A nasty comment – but what a slippery slope social media has become when ‘tasteless’ is the ‘new crime’. Will this 19 year old land up with a criminal record for an offensive joke?  I listen to many hours of stand up a week – and this tweet pales in comparison to the outrageous satire and offensive (and funny) material on YouTube.

You can go and murder tens of thousands of people in a foreign land – but don’t dare make a distasteful comment.

And the Scottish police have issued a blanket threat to ‘Investigate’ any ‘Offensive Comments’ made on social media sites. (Article here)

It is strange that police cars were “in attendance” in the man’s street – when he had already handed himself in.

This from the BBC: “A 19-year-old man from Sunderland handed himself into police on Monday evening and was arrested on suspicion of making a malicious communication. He has not been formally named and has been bailed pending further inquiries”.

This in the Sunderland Echo: “Yesterday, in the Sunderland street where he lives, police cars were in attendance“. Why? – And also when “The Twitter message was deleted by the individual immediately.”