Student arrested after wearing gorilla mask, handing out bananas at Black Lives Matter protest

This guy did something totally stupid and probably don't understand how it will effect him in the future. But, where does free speech end? From the uscourtsdotgov site.

Freedom of speech includes the right:

Not to speak (specifically, the right not to salute the flag).
West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943).
Of students to wear black armbands to school to protest a war (“Students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate.”).
Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503 (1969).
To use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages.
Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971).
To contribute money (under certain circumstances) to political campaigns.
Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976).
To advertise commercial products and professional services (with some restrictions).
Virginia Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Consumer Council, 425 U.S. 748 (1976); Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977).
To engage in symbolic speech, (e.g., burning the flag in protest).
Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989); United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990).

Agreed 100%.

So, of course what he did, in the minds of others would be considered stupid and asking to have his ass kicked all over the place


According to campus police, after being read his rights Rettke told officers that a couple of days earlier he had seen on social media that there would be a Black Lives Matter
event in the “free speech” area
of Borchuck Plaza on the Johnson City, Tenn., campus.


Rettke appeared in Sessions Court Thursday afternoon for an arraignment hearing on charge of civil rights intimidation...

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=55577

...We talked with District Attorney General Tony Clark about what has to be proven for Rettke to get convicted of the charge against him .

“Did that in and of itself, was that an intrusion of their rights to the point they could not exercise or protest freely as guaranteed by the constitution so that’s the question of intimidation did it cross that line,” Clark said.

Rettke is literally facing up to 11 years in prison for his act of trolling.

He didn't assault anyone, nor did he threaten anyone with violence. He wore a gorilla mask and waved a banana around like a monkey.


Based on the definition of the law and the charge, there is no civil rights intimidation here. He did not imped the protesters from their objective. He didn't threaten any of them with violence, and he didn't even get in there way. He was just a dumbass. He was in the schools "Free Speech" area.