# Wisconsin Teen Threatened With Arrest if She didnt Delete Instagram Post Claiming She Hd Coronavirus **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 17, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003 "2020-04-17T19:54:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/1 "2020-04-17T19:54:29Z")
> **[A Teenager Posted About Her COVID-19 Infection on Instagram. A Deputy...](https://reason.com/2020/04/17/a-teenager-posted-about-her-covid-19-infection-on-instagram-a-deputy-threatened-to-arrest-her-if-she-didnt-delete-it/)** > > A family in Oxford, Wisconsin, is suing the local sheriff's department after a patrol sergeant threatened to arrest a teenage… Now the family is suing the police. Lots of people are forgetting we have a Constitution and civil rights because of this pandemic. > [@](#): > > A family in Oxford, Wisconsin, is suing the local sheriff’s department after a patrol sergeant threatened to arrest a teenage girl for disorderly conduct for posting on Instagram about being infected with COVID-19. > > Amyiah Cohoon, 16, is a student at Westfield Area High School in Westfield, Wisconsin. According to this lawsuit, she and schoolmates went to Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida for a spring break trip in early March, right as the coronavirus was beginning to spread and businesses began to shut down. She and her classmates canceled the trip early and returned home. > > Once home, Cohoon began developing symptoms associated with COVID-19. She sought medical assistance, but at the time they were unable to test her to see if she was infected. She was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection with “symptoms consistent with COVID-19,” according to the lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/2 "2020-04-17T20:02:18Z")
Some people are forgetting that neither the Constitution nor ‘civil rights’ protect you from the legal consequences of ‘shouting fire in a crowded theater’. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/3 "2020-04-17T20:04:52Z")
Even if she were just making it up, would that be illegal? And if it were, would the complaint be against Cohoon, or against Instagram? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/4 "2020-04-17T20:06:43Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Some people are forgetting that neither the Constitution nor ‘civil rights’ protect you from the legal consequences of ‘shouting fire in a crowded theater’. > > CMC fnord! And you obviously didnt read the story. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/5 "2020-04-17T20:09:08Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Even if she were just making it up, would that be illegal? And if it were, would the complaint be against Cohoon, or against Instagram? Thats an excellent question that I dont have the expertise to attempt to answer. However, it was her high school that notified all parents about her condition, it wasnt her instagram post that caused the uproar. The school basically threw her under the bus and called her a liar. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/6 "2020-04-17T20:09:27Z")
And if she’s _not_ making it up, what then? Is it illegal to shout “Fire!” in a crowded theater when, in fact, the theater on fire? Is it illegal to shout “Covid!” in a crowded Instagram thread when, in fact, the poster is infected (or reasonably thinks she is)? How does such a post create a threat of imminent panic and stampede? It’s one thing to shout “Covid” at the supermarket (we’ve already started to see cases like that), but on an on-line forum??? ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/7 "2020-04-17T20:12:35Z")
Looks like she behaved perfectly responsibly, isolated herself and did as much seeking medical help as she possibly could. And warned people about the risk. That’s a GOOD thing. She still might not have been wrong about her illness (which everyone acknowledges was real) and even if she was, “being mistaken in public” is not a crime. What bad thing has resulted from her being wrong in this direction? Uh…nothing. What bad thing could result from her being wrong in the other direction? Well, she could spread the disease round her local area and get a bunch of people killed. I’m on team teen. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/8 "2020-04-17T20:17:05Z")
Stupid police, that’s a White Girl. Don’t they have any Black Men there to arrest for no reason? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/9 "2020-04-17T20:20:32Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Some people are forgetting that neither the Constitution nor ‘civil rights’ protect you from the legal consequences of ‘shouting fire in a crowded theater’. > > CMC fnord! If that’s what she was doing, then (as **Senegoid** said) it’s because _there actually was a fire_, or at least she had good reason to believe that there was. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/10 "2020-04-17T20:23:16Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Stupid police, that’s a White Girl. Don’t they have any Black Men there to arrest for no reason? Looking at the demographics of the town on Wikipedia, probably not, no; they don’t have any black people to arrest. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/11 "2020-04-17T20:32:57Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Some people are forgetting that neither the Constitution nor ‘civil rights’ protect you from the legal consequences of ‘shouting fire in a crowded theater’. > > CMC fnord! It does if the theatre’s on fire. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/12 "2020-04-17T20:40:54Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > If that’s what she was doing, then (as **Senegoid** said) it’s because _there actually was a fire_, or at least she had good reason to believe that there was. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > It does if the theatre’s on fire. Umm, what’s the penalty for correctly shouting fire in a crowded theater again? CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/13 "2020-04-17T20:41:17Z")
Remember that in the original opinion the court said, “_falsely_ shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic.” ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/14 "2020-04-17T21:00:37Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Stupid police, that’s a White Girl. Don’t they have any Black Men there to arrest for no reason? C’mon, man. I disregard the blue man gang as much as the next virtue signaler, but I don’t think the outrage, or at least put-outedness, here has to do with a The Authorities deciding to abuse a White Girl[sup]®[/sup] so much as Them just continuing to pretend The US Constitution doesn’t exist. The Blue Men love to intimidate children. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/15 "2020-04-17T21:01:44Z")
nvm ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/16 "2020-04-17T21:02:35Z")
Yeah. There’s not always fire where there’s smoke, but I don’t think people who yell “Fire!” because they smell smoke, and turn out to be wrong, should be in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/17 "2020-04-17T21:03:17Z")
So the county wants to preserve its 0 infection rate and this is grounds for violating the Constitution with trumped up charges. Egad. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-teen-threatened-with-arrest-if-she-didnt-delete-instagram-post-claiming-she-hd-coronavirus/852003/18 "2020-04-17T21:29:58Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Stupid police, that’s a White Girl. Don’t they have any Black Men there to arrest for no reason? > [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > C’mon, man. I disregard the blue man gang as much as the next virtue signaler, but I don’t think the outrage, or at least put-outedness, here has to do with a The Authorities deciding to abuse a White Girl[sup]®[/sup] so much as Them just continuing to pretend The US Constitution doesn’t exist. The Blue Men love to intimidate children. **Moderator Warnings** I thought by now everyone would be aware of the rule against politics in this forum, but I guess not. I’m warning both of you for political potshots. Don’t do this again. Colibri Quarantine Zone Moderator