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From http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/215811
ACLU says it's ready to defend arrested blogger
Elisha Strom of Thaxton posted a police officer's address on the Web.
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By Rex Bowman [/font]
777-3523
The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia is offering to defend a Bedford County blogger arrested last month after posting a police officer's address on her blog.
Elisha Strom, 34, of Thaxton faces a mandatory six months in jail if convicted of the charge of harassing law enforcement.
The ACLU is interested in the case because the state statute used to charge Strom is unconstitutional, said Kent Willis, executive director of the organization's Virginia office. "The law is flawed because the law is too broad. Laws of this type can only limit the kinds of statements someone makes if they are a true threat."
Strom said she would be interested in talking to the ACLU about representing her.
The unemployed Strom was charged July 16 with violating a Virginia law (18.2-186.4) that prohibits the publication of anyone's name, photograph or place of residence "with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass." A 2007 addition to the law made it a felony punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of six months in jail for anyone to knowingly post such information about a law enforcement officer. A conviction carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney Denise Lunsford, who is prosecuting Strom, declined to comment on the case.
For roughly 10 months, Strom had been posting information about the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement (JADE) task force on her blog, I HeArTE JADE (
iheartejade.blogspot.com). The blog name can be read as either "I heart JADE" or "I hate JADE," which Strom described as an intentional ambiguity.
The blog, she said, is her hobby, and she did not intend to harass or impede the officers. She said she has long been fascinated by intelligence and police work. "It was a Web site that was supposed to be fun and lighthearted," she said. "I guess I'll have to find a new hobby."
To gather material for her blog, Strom has followed JADE officers, photographed them and posted their pictures on her site. The home address she posted came from a public source, she said. As police arrived to arrest her, she posted a final message: "Uh Oh. They're Here."
Strom is known in the Charlottesville community for her past ties to the white separatist movement. She said she is no longer involved and hasn't been for several years.
The law under which Strom was charged is similar to a law that Washington state enacted in 2002 that forbids the publication of police officers' home addresses and phone numbers "with the intent to harm or intimidate." A federal court struck down that law.
House of Delegates Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said the Virginia law passed unanimously in both the House and state Senate, but he's not certain it would withstand a legal challenge. "I think that the attorney general's going to have their work cut out for them. But it's possible it's constitutional. They're going to have to show very clearly that the intent is to coerce, intimidate and harass, and that it's not just about making a police officer uncomfortable. Public officials are made uncomfortable all the time."
Strom spent nearly a month in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail before a family member came up with the $7,500 bail last week.
"I don't hate law enforcement," she said. "I know my intentions were not to harass them, so they're going to have a hard time proving that."
