The arrest of a Connecticut high school student accused of posting racist comments about a Black classmate on social media is being supported by civil rights advocates, but free speech groups are calling it an unusual move by police that raises First Amendment issues.
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The arrest of a Connecticut high school student accused of posting racist comments about a Black classmate on social media is being supported by civil rights advocates, but free speech groups are calling it an unusual move by police that raises First Amendment issues.
A 16-year-old student in a classroom at Fairfield Warde High School allegedly took a photo of a Black classmate and posted it on Snapchat on May 7 with a caption that included a racial slur and racist comments. The teen who made the post is white, according to the Black student’s mother.
Police in Fairfield, Connecticut, arrested the student on a state hate crime charge of ridicule on account of creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality or race. The misdemeanor dating back to 1917 has been called an unconstitutional infringement on free speech rights by the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and some law school professors.
ACLU condemns unconstitutional arrest of Connecticut boy, 16, for racially abusing black classmate on Snapchat and says it threatens First Amendment right to free speech
Snapchat post taken at Fairfield Warde High School in Connecticut saw white boy use racist slurs against Jamar Medor, 16
The school is located in one of the wealthiest areas of the US, and just 3 percent of the students at the school are black
Medor says he no longer feels comfortable at school
The unidentified perpetrator has been charged with a state hate crime count, which ACLU suggested was unconstitutional
They said the First Amendment protects the boy s right to free speech - even if it is racist
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