criminal charges for craigslist rant

by Violet Blue on December 3, 2008

This is slightly off-topic, but still appropriate to share with you given what I’ve been through with trolls, stalkers, and restraining orders this year:

A Colorado man accused of posting comments about his ex-girlfriend on the Web site Craigslist has been charged under a rarely used criminal libel law.

(…) “Many people convince themselves it’s anonymous,” said Sandra Baron, the director of the Media Law Resource Center, who said criminal libel laws should be abolished. “And, of course, the reach of the Internet is such that once it’s out there, it’s so widespread and so provocative that it inspires people to want to take action to stop it.”

The case against Weichel began when his former lover reported postings about her to the police. Court records cited by The Associated Press say one Web post allegedly written by Weichel suggested the woman traded sexual acts for legal services from her attorney.

When confronted by detectives, Weichel allegedly said he was “just venting,” according to the AP. (read more: Craigslist Rant Ends in Rare Criminal Charges, abcnews.go.com)

Violet Blue

The London Times named Violet Blue "One of the 40 bloggers who really count" and Self Magazine named TinyNibbles one of the “Best Sex Resources for Women.” Blue is an autodidact and pundit on sex and technology, hacking and security, porn for women, privacy and bleeding-edge tech culture. She is a journalist for ZDNet, CBS News, CNET; she's an educator, speaker, crisis counselor, volunteer NGO trainer, and the author and editor of over 40 award-winning books.

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{ 3 comments }

1 Michael February 1, 2009 at 3:26 am

Talk about losing your cool. I’ve gone off the handle a few times but not like that. Craigslist Phone Verified Accounts

2 Brad December 11, 2008 at 10:32 am

was hoping you’d take a closer look at iList.com and post a review!

3 David December 4, 2008 at 4:15 am

Some people can do some very odd things when they feel as though they have been wronged.

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