Submitted by Charlton (Chuck) Stanley, Weekend Contributor
This piece could easily have been titled, Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis (below, left) discovers the Streisand Effect.
(Official Photo)
The same might be said of Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard. Sometime in February or early March, the Twitter account @Peoriamayor was created, with a picture and fake bio of Mayor Ardis. On or about March 10, the account was labeled a parody, clarifying that it was not really Jim Ardis’ account. That did not deter Ardis, who appears to be as thin-skinned as any politician we have seen recently. He recruited Police Chief Settingsgaard to track down whoever was behind the parody Twitter account.
Over a period of three weeks, detectives from the Peoria Police Department conducted an intensive internet manhunt for the person or persons responsible for the Twitter account. On March 14, Judge Kirk Schoebein signed a warrant ordering Twitter to turn over account information to the Peoria police. The information was released to the police, and on March 29, Judge Lisa Wilson approved a warrant to Comcast to locate the user who owned the Twitter account. Jacob Elliot, who lives on North University Street, was identified as the owner of the account. On April 15, Circuit Judge Kim Kelly of the Tenth Judicial District of Illinois approved a search warrant on Elliot’s home. The warrant was executed on April 17.
A half dozen officers from the Police Department raided Jacob Elliot’s home in Peoria. Police Chief Settingsgaard claimed that by setting up the fake Twitter account, Elliot was “impersonating a public official.” Twitter deleted the account @Peoriamyor when they got the warrant for information in March, saying their Terms of Service were violated.
What could possibly go wrong?
Elliot’s parody Twitter account lasted about a month or less before it was taken down. He had made a total of about fifty tweets, and just a handful of subscribers. In the tweets, he compared Ardis to Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. As soon as news of the raid and arrests hit social media sites, in just the past couple of days new parody sites, such as Not Jim Ardis, have popped up like mushrooms after a spring rain. Mayor Ardis, meet the Streisand Effect.
Note that in the warrant, there is authorization to search for drugs as well as computer and telecommunications equipment. Elliot was arrested for having marijuana at his home, but nothing was in his booking report about his parody site. This is another example of using drug laws to go after someone where there is an almost 100% chance of the charges being thrown out on Constitutional grounds. His girlfriend was in the shower when the police came. One other friend was at the house. All three were taken to the police station and questioned, but only Elliot was arrested.
I have a whole lecture on the Law of Unintended Consequences. I had never heard of Jim Ardis or Chief Settingsgaard before yesterday. Now, the story is spreading on the Internet and millions of others who never heard of him either know his name and picture. Mayor Ardis managed to throw gasoline on a spark that was about to die of its own accord.
Sources:
Peoria Journal Star
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Here is a partial list of new Twitter accounts which parody the mayor that have sprung up: All aTwitter ’bout Jim
His mindset and world view may be informed now by his association with warmongering security corporations (Axis & Jupiter Strategic Tech. “The company involves in the defense projects relating to command and control systems, air defense, network centric warfare…”). His buddies in that field may have helped … even the military NSA …
Paul,
That is true, but libel is a civil matter, not criminal. The mayor could have hired an attorney and filed a lawsuit. Said attorney would have hired a private detective to dig out the facts. Instead he spent taxpayer money and involved the police department for three weeks on what should have been a civil matter.
If he had followed that route, he would not have made himself a buffoon in national media.
Dredd – my guess is that the paper came out against the mayor in the last election.
I think the search area of the complaint is a cut-and-paste which allows them to seize anything they need while searching.
samantha – the feds are trying to wait the protestors out. They are still there and are marshaling more forces. However, the protest has called on Western lawmakers to consider a 2nd Sagebrush Rebellion.
Dr. Matt: Typo in title fixed.
riccardocabeza: The rationale (or rationalization) for the warrant is in the first three paragraphs of the search warrant (embedded above)
There are limits on parody and just saying it is parody does not make it so. Close counts in libel actions and legal cases.
The comments in a local paper are not supportive:
(Peoria Journal Star).
I found it refreshing when federal authorities backed down after hordes of demonstrators had descended upon the Bundy ranch in Nevada. The same thing needs to happen in Peoria, to make an example of the mayor, the police chief and the judges. The days of public officials mocking consumers is over. Now, gradually they are being forced to behave. Long live the Internet.
Just a great abuse of discretion; and terrible waste of taxpayer dollars.
Even when accounts, blog, tweets etc., are true;
they system bullies you for speaking out.
Roger Shuler (Legal Schnauzer Blogger) was recently released after months in prison for posting a story about the ex Governor’s son, running on a platform of anti-abortion; paid for his secret girlfriend (he’s married) to get an abortion.
Judge tossed him in after Shuler got tired of the tyranny;
and refused to comply (any longer) with the autocratic orders.
We are in America, the food dish for the world’s elite to eat/play and poop on.
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2014/04/legal_schnauzer_blogger_thankf.html?_wcsid=B244287690AE40D5E1D2F635B96A134BA11660CCF1071F46C7C8EAA8A18E5640%20
One of the citizens in Parker County Texas wrote a letter to the editor listing reasons not to elect appointed District Judge Trey Loftin. Judge Loftin brought the author up on contempt of court charges. With no money to demand his constitutional rights, the author was given one year of supervised probation. He was ordered to give Trey Loftin a list of all his on line accounts including all personal and business email accounts with the passwords. Just another example to show only those citizens with money really have constitutional rights in this country. Oh, when the election was held the citizens threw Loftin out. He was never elected just appointed by the Governor for a few months.
Congrats Mayor. Instead of the 50 followers of the original post you now have thousands viewing this story on multiple news sites as well as an amusing video at You Tube. You deserve every minute of humiliation that you get.
A wonderful abuse of law enforcement….. This just shows you the judges are hacks for the police/prosecutors….
On what basis was the warrant signed?
Who would be so mentally disturbed as to want to live in or near Peoria, Illinois. I’ve only driven by on I 55 but always thought it would be a nice place. Sounds more like War-time Germany under Hitler.
Well written Otteray (of anarchy thingys smitten).
Can Mayors use Police to guard U.S. one and all, from the wayward imposters of web fair? Should they be allowed to “target” people and willy nilly add “drugs” to the issues at hand (when their t’ain’t none).
Hey Charlton… Typo in the Title. :-))
How many times do we have to say it our politicians see themselves as the aristocrats of another time and they use the police to force the proper amount of “respect” from their lowly subjects. This is another example of the growing nature of our police state and to think that a judge was low enoght to think that the warrant was appropriate but then he too is one of the aristocrats. One must protect the sensibilities of ones own. Oh, yea that free speech thing, that is just for corporations and billionaires.
I made a parody account!
http://andykaufmanskavalkadekrew.wordpress.com/2014/04/19/snerdley-mustachios-groovy-free-speech-zone/
@FreeSpeechJim. LoL.