Free Republic

"Even if "shoot the ni-" or "he will have a 50 cal in the head soon" could reasonably have been perceived by objective observers as threats within the factual context, this alone would not have been enough to convict Bagdasarian.....The government must also show that he made the statements intending that they be taken as a threat. A statement that the speaker does not intend as a threat is afforded constitutional protection and cannot be held criminal." page 17

La Mesa man finds out when free speech is no longer protected, after he is convicted of making threats against a candidate for president. SAN DIEGO, California - Walter Edward Bagdasarian walked out of federal court Tuesday morning the same way he walked in, wearing a stoic expression on his face and clutching the hand of his wife. But, when Bagdasarian came out of the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building he was a man guilty of threatening the man running for the country's top spot, now President Barack Obama. "The government's position essentially was that the defendent intended to make...

..Walter Bagdasarian of La Mesa posted the messages in October. Prosecutors say one on a Yahoo Finance board read, "He will have a 50 cal in the head soon." .. Bagdasarian faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 26..