ESSENCE Poll: Is Free Speech Going Too Far on Social Media?

A Florida man has been arrested after posting threatening messages about President Barack Obama. In a Facebook comment posted five days before POTUS’ re-election, 28-year-old Christopher Castillo wrote:

“That’s the last straw, if he gets re-elected I’m going to hunt him down and kill him watch the life disappear from his eyes.”

The Secret Service paid Castillo a visit at his home to further investigate his intentions.  He was arrested and a judge ruled that he must remain in custody until officials can equip him with a GPS monitoring system. Castillo’s father believes his son’s comments were nothing more than social media banter.  “A lot of people say things on Facebook that they don’t mean,” Frank Castillo told Florida Today.

Just last week Denise Helms, a 22-year-old California resident, was fired from her job after posting a racial slur about the President on her Facebook page. “I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal,” she told a local TV station.

Were Castillo and Helms merely exercising his right to free speech or did they go too far? Take our poll, and share your thoughts in our comments section.

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