Teen Accused Of Facebook Terror Post Freed, But Effect Case Had On Free Speech ‘Cannot Be Undone’

A Massachusetts teenager jailed a month ago for a Facebook terror post has been freed. His post suggested that he would do worse than the Boston Marathon bombers. A grand jury refused to indict him.

Cameron D'Ambrosio, 18, is the teen accused of the Facebook post. He was arrested and jailed May 1 after posting rap lyrics referencing the bombing, the Inquisitr reports: "F*** a boston bomb wait till u see the s*** I do, I'mma be famous rapping, and beat every murder charge that comes across me!"

The young aspiring rapper is from Methuen, just 30 miles north of Boston.

The case pitted free speech proponents against law enforcement amid a growing number of school-violence and terror incidents across the United States, Reuters reports. Supporters of internet freedom and First Amendment rights questioned whether the teenager's Facebook comment warranted jail time.

"While today is a major victory for Cam, the chilling effect that this case has already had on free speech cannot be undone," said Evan Greer, of Boston's Center for Rights and Fight For The Future. The organization gathered 90,000 signatures for an online petition supporting the teen.

Earlier this week, it was suggested that the prosecution would move forward with the case. If D'Ambrosio had been convicted of a terrorism charge, he would have had to serve as many as 20 years in prison.

However, a jury in the case refused to indict D'Ambrosio based on the Facebook terror post accusation. The Lawrence District Court Judge Lynn Rooney ordered D'Ambrosio's release today.

Staunch supporters of First Amendment rights have criticized law enforcement's overreaction to the teen's Facebook lyrics. Shirin Sinnar, assistant professor of law at Stanford University Law School, explains the difficulty in handling such a situation.

"Law enforcement wants to preempt acts of violence before they occur," Sinnar said. "The risk is that you sweep in people who had no intent to cause a crime."

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