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Police in Peoria, IL raided the home of a 27 year-old resident who set up a parody Twitter account for the Peoria mayor. The raid did not result in any arrests, but computers and phones were seized and the residents questioned. The police are investigating the account for breaking a law forbidding "impersonating a public official". If the case moves forward, the alleged owner of the account, Michelle Pratt, could face a $2,500 fine and up to a year in jail.
Even if it is eventually dropped, this could have a chilling effect on satirical political speech and seems like a massive overstep by a local police force to save face for an elected official.
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Fake Mayor Twitter Account Leads to Police Raid
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(Score: 3, Informative) by Angry Jesus on Thursday April 17 2014, @06:20PM
> FTFA: ...as were two other people who were met by police at their workplaces.
>
> Yes, at a lot of places, this is also how you lose your job. Pretty chilling.
As a lot of the wrong kind of cops are fond saying, "You might beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride."