A Massachusetts teen was arrested a month ago for a post on Facebook where he suggested he could do worse than the Boston Marathon Bombers. He was released, according to Yahoo! News, after a grand jury failed to indict him.
Cameron D'Ambrosio was arrested on May 1 and accused of "communicating a terrorist threat." He posted lyrics that included the words, "a Boston bombing wait till u see the shit I do."
The case caused rights activists to have him freed, demonstrating the growing tensions between law enforcement officials and free speech proponents after a recent increase in terror and school-violence incidents across the country.
Lawrence District Court Judge Lynn Rooney issued the release order on Thursday after a grand jury chose not to indict D'Ambrosio, according to the court clerk's office. An official at the county prosecutor's office didn't comment on the matter.
"While today is a major victory for Cam, the chilling effect that this case has already had on free speech cannot be undone," Evan Greer, of Boston's Center for Rights and fight for the Future, said. The group organized an online petition supporting D'Ambrosio that received 90,000 signatures.
Police arrested D'Ambrosio after fellow students at Methuen High School alerted officials about the Facebook post. Has D'Ambrosio been convicted of the terrorism charge, he would have faced up to 20 years in prison.
This case came weeks after bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, killing three people and injuring 264. Two brothers from Chechnya perpetrated the attack.
Police are also facing pressure in the case due to the recent school shootings, including the Sandy Hook Elementary school incident, where 20 students and six staff members at the school were killed.
"Law enforcement wants to preempt acts of violence before they occur," Shirin Sinnar, an assistant professor of law at Stanford University Law School, said. "The risk is that you sweep in people who had no intent to cause a crime."
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