Post by Logan on Feb 23, 2016 7:24:37 GMT -6
Carl Gibson (D)
Author of hoax special election email fights felony on First Amendment grounds
The liberal activist from Concord who said he distributed a hoax press release days before a special election last year – which said the Republican candidate was dropping out – is fighting the felony charges against him on First Amendment grounds.
Carl Gibson, 28, is arguing a phony concession statement sent to news outlets purporting to be from Republican Yvonne Dean-Bailey is part of “protected free speech.”
Dean-Bailey, a 19-year-old, was voted into the state House five days later.
Gibson said it was a “prank,” but the attorney general’s office arrested and charged him with two felonies and a misdemeanor, saying he suppressed voter turnout and falsified a document. He was indicted on the charges in October.
Gibson’s attorney, Michael Iacopino, filed a motion Jan. 22 to dismiss the charges. He wrote that Gibson’s right to free speech was being violated because the press release can be “construed as protected speech and a commentary on the young age of a candidate as well as a comment on distractions such as being a college student that would detract from a candidate’s ability to do a good job as a public official.”
Read more: politics.concordmonitor.com/2016/02/crime-law/author-of-hoax-special-election-email-fights-felony-on-first-amendment-grounds/