NBC12 – WWBT – Richmond, VA News On Your Side
HENRICO, VA – Kristin Holmes thought she was being funny when she posted a picture of herself holding a gun on Facebook, but she’s not laughing now. Holmes was slapped with a misdemeanor charge which could lead to a $2,500 fine and up to a year in jail.
It started with an online fight on Facebook, which saw Holmes arguing that she was mistaken for another woman, so she posted a picture of her and a gun saying: “I’ll post a few actual pics of me so you’ll know the difference when you ‘come find me.'”
One of the users who was monitoring the chat called the police. Holmes then took the picture down, claiming that it was a joke. “What happened to freedom of speech?” Holmes said to NBC12. “And it was just a picture. It wasn’t a threat. I thought it was a funny picture, and then I realized later that it was a little bit intimidating. So I took it down.”
Kevin Carroll of the Fraternal Order of Police argued that there is “no such thing as a petty offense.”
“It’s actually against the law to say it in public,” said Carroll. “It’s a part of the disorderly conduct statute. If it’s against the law to say it in public..why wouldn’t it be against the law to say it to someone through a computer?”
Holmes warned others against doing what she did. “Be careful what you put on the internet,” said Holmes.”Because you can go to jail for it. Facebook thugging is a crime.”
