Walter Bagdasarian’s post to shot Obama isn’t a crime
Walter Bagdasarian’s racist post in 2008 suggesting that Barack Obama should be shot dead is a lawful online speech, not a crime, “Los Angeles Times” reports.
According to the paper a Southern California man who posted an online racist rant that suggested Barack Obama should be shot during the 2008 presidential campaign was engaged in constitutionally protected free speech and should not have faced criminal charges, a divided federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The decision overturns the conviction of Walter Bagdasarian of La Mesa, northeast of San Diego, who was found guilty two years ago by a federal judge in San Diego of violating a statute prohibiting threats to kill, kidnap or do bodily harm to a major presidential candidate.