Not Comics: Renton Police Vs. Cartoonist Update

It looks like the news story about the Renton (WA) police department seeking to uncover the name of a cartoonist that made videos lampooning their behavior and prosecute that person under cyber-stalking laws may have run its initial course. Where it goes from here depends on the outcome of attempted prosecution and any backlash facing the department, the prosecutor and the judge. The original news source breaking the story has uncovered that the King County prosecutor's office refused to issue an indictment, which led department representatives to take it to Renton to see if what they wanted could be found there. This builds on criticism focused on the department's overreaction to the cartoons, which would become infinitely more publicized were the prosecution to move forward. As it is, a misdemeanor charge may still be sought, which while not the five years a felony charge could bring may still have a chilling effect on free speech in and out of the cartoon arts.

The Renton officials involved in the story are named in this blog post.
 
posted 4:20 am PST | Permalink
 

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