Paul Chambers, who was previously found guilty of sending a "menacing tweet," has been acquitted by the High Court after two-and-a-half years trapped in legal limbo. On hearing of the closure of his local airport, the 27-year-old had sent out a facetious tweet to his 600 followers that mentioned "blowing the airport sky high!" However, despite airport authorities realizing the message was a joke, the UK's Crown Prosecution Service took the man to court and won. The social network quickly rallied around, with many repeating the tweet with the hashtag #IAmSpartacus and involving celebrities such as Stephen Fry, who helped raise funds to launch an appeal. The court today found that its joking nature was "obvious" and that it was sent by someone who did not hide their identity -- clearing Mr. Chambers name once and for all. For the record, here was the original tweet with expletives removed:
"C**p! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your s**t together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!"
Man acquitted as #TwitterJokeTrial appeal ends in victory originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 05:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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David Allen Green (Twitter) | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/27/twitter-joke-trial-acquittal/
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