# Mayor orders raid in response to parody Twitter account **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 22, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695 "2014-04-22T16:54:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iamcitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7bcc69/32.png) [@iamcitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamcitizen)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/1 "2014-04-22T16:54:13Z")
[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/21/parody-twitter-account-peoria-ill-mayor-prompts-po/?utm\_source=RSS\_Feed&utm\_medium=RSS](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/21/parody-twitter-account-peoria-ill-mayor-prompts-po/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS) > [@](#): > > Illinois police raided a Peoria home last week to find the person behind a parody Twitter account that falsely claimed to be Mayor Jim Ardis. > … > Five people were brought to Peoria Police Department for questioning, but no arrests were made in connection with the Twitter account. Police did, however, arrest one resident for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, the newspaper reported. > … > “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,” Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard told the Star. So this looks to me like a pretty obvious violation of First Amendment rights by a vengeful politician. It may be technically true that the account was in violation of Twitter’s rules, since it wasn’t specifically labelled as a parody account, but surely the First Amendment overrides laws against “impersonation of a public figure” in this case, right? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/2 "2014-04-22T17:03:02Z")
I wonder if the marijuana arrest had probable cause other than TwitterStuff… ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/3 "2014-04-22T17:23:08Z")
I’m thinking the marijuana was the probable cause for the Twitter parody. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/4 "2014-04-22T17:48:42Z")
> [@](#): > > I wonder if the marijuana arrest had probable cause other than TwitterStuff… If the police had a legitimate warrant, and search in a manner consistent with what’s on that warrant, then anything else they find is also admissible. Of course, that still leaves the question of whether the original warrant was legitimate, here, and I look forward to the court case arguing that it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/5 "2014-04-22T20:45:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If the police had a legitimate warrant, and search in a manner consistent with what’s on that warrant, then anything else they find is also admissible. Of course, that still leaves the question of whether the original warrant was legitimate, here, and I look forward to the court case arguing that it’s not. I know nothing about the subject; a warrant may allow them to search for anything in the house? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/6 "2014-04-22T21:14:55Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I know nothing about the subject; a warrant may allow them to search for anything in the house? Not exactly. A warrant specifies what they are looking for and where they can look. If they find evidence of some crime in the areas they are allowed to search, they can seize it and use it. But not if they go beyond the scope of the warrant. For instance, if the warrant says they can search your home,and they decide to go outside and search your car too, it’s likely whatever they find will not be admissible against you. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/7 "2014-04-22T21:16:06Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I know nothing about the subject; a warrant may allow them to search for anything in the house? No, but if they are looking for flibbertigibbits as per the warrant and they find a mountain of cocaine in a bedroom, someone is going to jail for the coke. ETA: Ninja’d by **Boyo Jim**! \ And his answer was way more complete and detailed than mine! \ ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/8 "2014-04-22T21:50:16Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > No, but if they are looking for flibbertigibbits as per the warrant and they find a mountain of cocaine in a bedroom, someone is going to jail for the coke. > > ETA: Ninja’d by **Boyo Jim**! \ And his answer was way more complete and detailed than mine! \ To take this further if say the warrant is to search for stolen auto engines and transmissions and one of the officers finds a oz of coke in a drawer of a bedroom night stand it probably won’t be admissible. If on the other hand there are a couple of bales of pot in plain sight in the garage with the stolen engines somebody is going down. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/9 "2014-04-22T22:23:30Z")
God Bless the United States of Police State. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/10 "2014-04-23T02:45:03Z")
[Some more info](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/22/peoria-ill-police-raid-home-discern-who-mocked-may/) (emphasis added): > [@](#): > > The @Peoriamayor account was _created about nine weeks ago_ and subsequently sent out dozens of tweets about Jim Ardis, parody style. Twitter reportedly _suspended the account in mid-March_. > > About a week before its suspension, the account was actually labeled a parody account. But city police, _reportedly acting under the order of Mr. Ardis_, issued a warrant and raided the suspect’s home — a tactic that left legal experts up in arms. Figure this account was active 4-5 weeks, was properly labelled towards the end, and had since disappeared, but a thin-skinned mayor and his jackboots still raid a home over some tweets. And they’ll likely get away with it, and might even get a conviction or plea bargain using a poorly-worded law supposedly meant to prevent police impersonation. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/11 "2014-04-23T04:27:34Z")
All the talk about the scope of the warrant is fine, but what probable cause led to the warrant? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/12 "2014-04-23T04:33:33Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > All the talk about the scope of the warrant is fine, but what probable cause led to the warrant? I assumed a check of IP addresses led them to the address they raided. A raid for a misdemeanor that had been committed weeks ago seems a bit over the top to me, tho. I’m not sure it sends the message that the mayor wanted to send. ---
**Author:** ![ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisUsernameIsForbidden)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/13 "2014-04-23T04:39:23Z")
Meh, Voltaire was sent to the Bastille, twice. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-orders-raid-in-response-to-parody-twitter-account/686695/14 "2014-04-23T04:43:29Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I assumed a check of IP addresses led them to the address they raided. > > A raid for a misdemeanor that had been committed weeks ago seems a bit over the top to me, tho. I’m not sure it sends the message that the mayor wanted to send. I’m just aghast that a judge signed the warrant. The judges on Law & Order always seem hesitant without evidence of a crime having been committed.