Man Arrested For Parodying Illinois Mayor On Social Media Has Last Laugh After Winning Civil Suit
Jon Daniel was just looking for a few laughs when he set up a parody Twitter account of Peoria, Illinois mayor Jim Ardis. Instead, Daniel nearly got himself a little jail time after city officials had him arrested for impersonating a public official. Now Daniel is laughing all the way to the bank after winning a civil lawsuit against Peoria that will see him receive $125,000.
The real mayor, Jim Ardis, sent police to the home of the man behind the @peoriamayor after he became concerned that the parody account would make people think the official associated with drug users and prostitutes. Among the tweets that drew Ardis’ ire was “Who stole my crackpipe?“
Not only will Daniel receive $125,000 for being wrongfully arrested, but the city will issue a directive telling police that the law which bans impersonating public officials does not include parody or satire. This was the reason the Twitter user was able to get the money in the first place. “The directive makes clear that parody should never be the predicate for a criminal investigation and that the action against Mr. Daniel should never be repeated again,” Karen Sheley, an ACLU attorney, said in a statement.
