The Sideshow
Illinois mayor sends cops after man who created parody Twitter account
However, the Journal Star says that Twitter had already suspended the @Peoriamayor parody account before the raid took place and that the only thing police found on site was some marijuana.
The alleged creator of the Twitter account, Jacob Elliott, 36, was charged with one count of marijuana possession but was not charged with any crimes related to the parody account.
The official request for a search warrant filed with the Peoria police reads in part:
“In addition to the creation of the @peoriamayor twitter account, Mayor Ardis discovered that the individual had created ‘tweets’ impersonating Mayor Ardis. These ‘tweets’ implied Mayor Ardis utilizes illegal drugs, associates with prostitutes, and utilized offensive inappropriate language.”
In their investigation of Elliot’s home, police seized his laptop, iPhone, computer memory cards, two Xbox gaming systems and several pieces of marijuana paraphernalia, along with other electronic items.
According to reports, as many as seven police officers took part in the raid, questioning three individuals in connection with the Twitter account and arresting two at their workplaces.
"They just asked me about the Twitter account, if I knew anything about it," 27-year-old Michelle Pratt told theJournal Star.
Though no charges have been filed related to the fake Twitter account, 28-year-old Jon Daniels, who also took part in the parody, said in an interview with Vice that he still fears charges could be filed against him.
However, rather than silencing dissent, news of the raid has since resulted in a number of new parody accounts being created across Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.
The story has even resulted in a Wikipedia page for Ardis, labeling the results of the raid as creating the “Streisand effect,” in which a public figure’s attempt to conceal an event results in greater attention being placed upon said person, thing or event.
Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard defended the raid saying it was not clearly written as a parody account. He noted that the account listed the mayor’s actual email address and linked back to the city’s official website.
"I don't agree it was obvious, and in fact it appears that someone went to great lengths to make it appear it was actually from the mayor," Settingsgaard said.
oh yeah ! but at least that mayor lived in the city he is mayor of .......let me ask again exactly were does fleming live ,what is his 911 address .......if the guy does not own property or have a lease in his name ,what vested interest does he have in the future of our county,or its day to day affairs ?????? being shacked up with someone don`t cut it ,and i don`t care how good he is with computers ........ besides the fact that he walked out on his wife and daughter ........we can do better than him ..........he took a good ride on our nickle,so now he should take a sneak and get going ,come election day ........he has done more than enough damage ,so much so that he almost has me nostalgic for james carpenter.......
ReplyDeleteit appears like our flaming fleming the guy can not take a joke .........and like our county the branches of government are not separate .......gee you don`t think kathy beverage got herself made magistrate out in peoria ,do ya ?????????when chief run a muck can`t run again maybe he can take diamond dave and some of the crew and get jobs in peoria .........
ReplyDeleteit's more like 'Demon Dave' and the rest can go to blazes
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