Chicopee Man Faces Charges For ‘Put Wings On Pigs’ Facebook Post

I understand the police being afraid and it was tragic what happened to the officers in NYC AND this guy is an idiot for posting that... BUT we can't criminalize speech just because of fear.

CBS Boston

CHICOPEE (CBS/AP) — A Chicopee man is facing charges after posting “Put Wings on Pigs” to Facebook, police say.

Chicopee police said Monday that local residents alerted them to the “very disturbing post” by 27-year-old Charles DiRosa.

Pigs might fly..

a reply to: Kali74
The guy's an idiot and deserves whatever charges he's facing.

a reply to: TheBlackDog

He deserves to be charged for using words? Is that really a road you want to go down?

a reply to: TheBlackDog

I agree with the "idiot" part, but, I disagree with charges. Unless he was making a specific threat against that police department or a specific officer, there is no crime here.

The threat of violence is classed as Assault in U.S. Legal terms. So, he broke the law if he threatened police.

Simple, really. Yes, you CAN be arrested for your words. Freedom of Speech doesn't mean freedom to threaten.

Does put wings on pigs mean something deadly, i might be missing something here.

Pretty soon we'll be banning books that contain any implication for violence against police. In the future, your minds will be washed clean of violent thoughts toward the establishment by removing these ideas from society. Oh, Brave New World, how I long for you to remove any semblance of autonomy from our feeble brains.

I'm with the rational people in this thread - dude is certainly an idiot, probably grossly un(der)informed, and based on pictures of him I would wager that his opinions are based on what's "popular" and "cool" instead of what's right..But should he be charged for a very general statement that the First Amendment protects?

a reply to: dukeofjive696969

"Putting wings on pigs" was the words used by the gunman on facebook before his fatal shooting of two NYPD officers.

In the U.S., some people call cops "pigs". By saying he's "putting wings on pigs" he's saying he'll turn them into angels (which is ironic, if all cops are bad, do they get wings and become angels when killed?) when he kills them, thus giving them "wings"

Roger Waters had best not come to the US anymore, I suppose.

He did not say he was going to do it. He just made a broad statement. Threat no. Inciting something maybe.a reply to: Kali74

originally posted by: TheBlackDog
a reply to: Kali74
The guy's an idiot and deserves whatever charges he's facing.

Maybe there should be a minimum jail term for being a Idiot..like a month hard labour or something, but no doubt TPTB will hit him with some form of terrorism charge and he will have his life ruined.

Happened here in the Scotland to a couple of Kids..Three years in prison for a facebook post during the London Riots.

Yet The Leader of a well known organization here in Scotland in July 2001 threatened that his 40,000 plus members would..and i quote,"become a Paramilitary organisation, if the SNP held a referendum on Independence" and the Police refused to even look into it.... Rules for some.

a reply to: ScientificRailgun

Not when it concerns speech, if you're waving a weapon or anything that can be used as a weapon around yes you can be arrested and charged for threat of violence. Speech has largely been protected in such cases.

More info

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun
The threat of violence is classed as Assault in U.S. Legal terms. So, he broke the law if he threatened police.

Simple, really. Yes, you CAN be arrested for your words. Freedom of Speech doesn't mean freedom to threaten.

Is the statement “Put Wings on Pigs” really a direct threat? I don't think this qualifies as a threatening statement, but I can certainly understand why police would take this seriously. I still don't think this ijjit did anything that warrants an arrest.

a reply to: Kali74

This whole story is a crime of its own....

I personally have been visited by the FBI for certain posts on ATS, but they took it too far with this one..

originally posted by: TinkerHaus
Pretty soon we'll be banning books that contain any implication for violence against police.

I'm already spotting news articles where people are "suspected of making anti-police statements".

Pretty soon, I expect to see a case where a relatively minor complaint about police behavior is treated as some sort of actionable threat, the way cops pretend that cameras are "cell phone guns".

a reply to: Kali74

If someone you know called you, or walked up to you and said "Tonight, I'm going to kill you. I'm going to take a knife and stab you 30 times. I'm going to do it slowly. I'll kill you, I promise you this."

Would you not call the police?

Not all speech is protected. Now, I don't think THIS particular guy should be facing charges, he posted something stupid on facebook and the police are having a knee-jerk reaction. I don't expect the charges to go to conviction. But that doesn't change the fact that legitimate threats to a person or group are illegal.

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun
(which is ironic, if all cops are bad, do they get wings and become angels when killed?)

Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell.
Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace,
yet grace must still look so.

a reply to: ScientificRailgun

I know that not all speech is protected and your example is not close to the same thing as posting what this moron did.

a reply to: unphased

Ha! I got a visit too, a while back. Nothing to do with ATS tho.

I was working at a coffee shop during a hectic breakfast rush, they're the worst! Anyway, a colleague asked , "Is there anything I get you?"

I replied, "A shot gun? Loaded please!"

LOL