'Uh-Oh They're Here' [Woman arrested for following cops around]

WaPo ^ | 8/10/2009 | WaPo

[bornred]

A 34-YEAR-OLD woman, the mother of a 12-year-old girl, has been locked up in a Virginia jail for three weeks and could remain there for at least another month. Her crime? Blogging about the police.

Elisha Strom, who appears unable to make the $750 bail, was arrested outside Charlottesville on July 16 when police raided her house, confiscating notebooks, computers and camera equipment. Although the Charlottesville police chief, Timothy J. Longo Sr., had previously written to Ms. Strom warning her that her blog posts were interfering with the work of a local drug enforcement task force, she was not charged with obstruction of justice or any similar offense. Rather, she was indicted on a single count of identifying a police officer with intent to harass, a felony under state law.

[bornred]

Blog is here: http://iheartejade.blogspot.com/

[skeeter]

Publishing the name and address of an officer wasn’t a very bright idea.

[allmost]

I could see the blog irritating law enforcement. Did she do anything illegal? I don't see it.

[theFIRMbss]

>Ms. Strom is not the most sympathetic symbol of free-speech rights. She has previously advocated creating a separate, all-white nation, and her blog veers from the whimsical to the self-righteous to the bizarre.

After her jail time
she will have a whole lot more
to post in her blog.

[skeeter]

Well, if someone were following me around, reporting on what I do & speculating about me in a blog, and then publishes my address I would hope I had some legal recourse to make her cease & desist, at least.

But I don't think this woman will spend any time in jail, nor should she.

[FoxPro]

The police are just the locally sanctioned domestic terrorists.

[Born Conservative]

Ms. Strom is not the most sympathetic symbol of free-speech rights. She has previously advocated creating a separate, all-white nation

Nut job.

[microgood]

Well, if someone were following me around, reporting on what I do & speculating about me in a blog, and then publishes my address I would hope I had some legal recourse to make her cease & desist, at least.

I think the Paparazzi gets away with a lot worse than this all the time, so I am not sure what can be done unless you can show you are being physically threatened.

[org.whodat]

Bull ++it, the local news paper published the complete list of all public employees where they live how much they are paid and how much they make. It is a requirement under Virgina law that such information be public. This charge will not last one minute in court.

[skeeter]

A celebrity would have a more difficult time proving harassment, since being in the public eye is their business.

[kcvl]

Since October 2008, Strom— already unpopular for her connections to the white separatist movement— has earned the opprobrium of law enforcement by following around JADE members, photographing them, and giving them nicknames like “Dasani,” “Longhead,” “Pringle,” and “Porn Star.”

Her interest in JADE stems, she says, from the arrest and conviction of her estranged husband, white separatist Kevin Strom, for one count of child porn possession. He was found not guilty of intimidating a witness— Elisha— and enticement of a minor in October 2007, but pleaded guilty to the kiddie porn charge and served 23 months.

One of the investigators on the Kevin Strom case, Charlottesville Police Detective Brian O’Donnell, also has worked on the JADE task force.

[skeeter]

Really. Do they also follow the employees around, report on the details of what they do and speculate on their personal habits?

If you can't see the difference in intent then I can't help you.

[org.whodat]

No but as crooked as Virgina cops are I can understand it. But it is a requirement that public employees not hide from those that pay them. After all they do drive their cars home. LOL

[Balding_Eagle]

A 34-YEAR-OLD woman, the mother of a 12-year-old girl, has been locked up in a Virginia jail for three weeks and could remain there for at least another month.

[microgood]

A celebrity would have a more difficult time proving harassment, since being in the public eye is their business.

Good point with regard to you, not sure how it applies to police, who are also in the public eye but in a different way.

[AppyPappy]

They are using these laws to attack racists as well. The racists “out” jurors and cops on the web. Roanoker Willaim White is a good example

[old curmudgeon]

The last time I looked at the 1st Amendment, it did not have a list of names as to who is and who is not entitled to free speech.

I would suggest you think about my sig:

If we do not wish to lose our freedom, we must learn to tolerate our
neighbor’s right to freedom even though he might express that freedom
in a manner we consider to be eccentric.

[thefactor]

ah yes, this is a woman you should rally around.

police can be harrassed just like anyone else.

[EEDUDE]

Yep.

Subjecting cops to photographic scrutiny may not be a bad thing. It might force them to clean up their act.

They ARE public employees after all.

[Born Conservative]

I suggest you reread my post. I was merely commenting on the fact that she advocates a seperate all-white nation. I have no problem with her saying it. It is my opinion that she is a nut job. And yes, I’m white.