So much for "free speech"

Free speech, as guaranteed by the 1st Amendment, is apparently OK until you criticize or scare someone with power they probably shouldn't have.

Marine Veteran Brandon Raub Sentenced To Up To 30 Days In Psych Ward Over Facebook Posts

The former Marine who was detained in connection with Facebook posts critical of the government is being held in a psychiatric ward, Peter Bacqué of the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.
...

Both the FBI and Secret Service said Raub was not arrested or charged, but the Rutherford Institute statement points out that "if the police have put handcuffs on you and you’re being held against your will, that qualifies as an arrest."

Word. Been there, done that. They sent this kid to the "flight deck" because they had no excuse to put him in jail.

John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, said the following: “For government officials to not only arrest Brandon Raub for doing nothing more than exercising his First Amendment rights but to actually force him to undergo psychological evaluations and detain him against his will goes against every constitutional principle this country was founded upon. This should be a wake-up call to Americans that the police state is here.”

We've seen more and more "police state" actions trending through two administrations now thanks to the blatantly unconstitutional Patriot Act and overzealous petty officialdom and/or the Ruling Elite abusing its perceived power when it pisses its pants over...almost anything it doesn't like. That's fucked up and needs to be stopped. Period.

Also see:

Marine Veteran Admitted To Psych Ward Over Facebook Posts Doesn't Know Why He Was Singled Out

Bad luck and the Patriot Act. The local sheriffs interviewed this guy and then left him alone. Then the feds stepped in and stepped right on his free speech rights because he was...scary to someone.

How about the FBI and Secret Service go arrest Ted Nugent or Rush Limbaugh or Pat Robertson or any number of wingnut rabble rousers, politicians, wannabe militias, neo-Nazis, etc., etc.? They say shit all the time that oughta scare 'em worse than whatever this Jarhead said. Oh, I remember now, any semblance of influence they may have, whatever it may be, excuses them. Much easier to walk all over the little guy who has none.

I may not like whatever Mr. Raub said but our system is supposed to let you say any damfool thing you want, no matter how false or crazy or obnoxious, short of actually threatening harm to someone. There are lots of deranged people saying all sorts of deranged things and they don't get arrested for it. I'd much rather someone just slap the shit out of 'em, and that only because it's impossible to slap any sense into 'em.

In Russia, you can get two years in prison for criticizing Putin. That's not supposed to happen here.

We will hear more about this, I am sure.