Tag Archives: Facebook and the Police

This week, the 1st District Court of Appeal, State of Florida, upheld a trial court ruling that a defendant who posted, on his own personal Facebook page, a tirade of profanity and promises to hurt a relative violated Florida Statute 836.10, Written Treats to Kill or Do Bodily Harm, a second degree felony. O’Leary v. State, Slip Op. No. 1D12-0975 (Fla. 1st DCA, 2013). Timothy Ryan O’Leary wrote the anti-gay diatribe, aimed at one of his relatives and her same-sex partner, on his Facebook page. Because O’Leary is Facebook friends with his cousin Michael and Michael is also related to the threatened relative, it broke the law, even though the threatened … Continue reading →