Pinkycatcher wrote:But the guy robbing the house would have been caught whether or not he was yelling communist speech, this guy was arrested because he said these words, do you seriously believe a police officer would stop someone just biking by if they said nothing in this same situation? No they would not have, you can argue it til the cows come home, but there are very few officers who are going to do that. This arrest was solely because of his speech, if he would have garnered the attention of the officers in a different way, without insulting them, they would have nearly always let him go with a warning at most, they would not have ticketed him. So yes, he was arrested for his speech.
And to say if he would have kept his "ducks in a row" he would not have gotten a ticket is a fallacy, there are thousand upon thousands of petty infractions that exist, and there's a near 100% chance any given person is breaking at least one of them while doing anything. So if it wern't for these problems, they could have found more.
My gosh... are you being purposely obtuse? I said, point blank, that he was stopped because he opened his mouth. But he wasn't cited because of it. He was stopped because, like a jerk idiot, he brought attention to himself while committing obvious infractions. But no, he wasn't arrested for his speech. His speech is just what brought the attention of the police. The guy robbing the house would be caught? Er.... since when do all burglars get caught? No, the burglar in my example got caught because he was reciting the communist manifesto WITH A BULL HORN. Using a bull horn while committing a crime is unwise. It draws unwanted attention and makes people look at your actions.
Let me give you another example. Let's say someone without a CHL is illegally carrying a concealed handgun in Grapevine Mills Mall. He won't get caught. If it's well concealed, the odds he'll get caught are virtually NIL. Now, let's dress him up in fatigue pants, combat boots, a t-Shirt that says, "Die Pig Die, I'll carry my Gun ANYWHERE I WANT!!" Wrap a turban around his head. Now have him run through the mall singing, "I Want to be an AIRBORNE RANGER!!!" as loudly as he can.
Is he stopped and questioned for his speech, stating how he would like to be a member of the US Armed forces? NO.
Likewise, had the individual on the bicycle been a lawyer and stopped, and given his business card to the individuals who the police had stopped and said, "If you'd like to retain me as your lawyer I'd recommend you make sure the officers read you your rights, and you not say anything further." I bet he wouldn't have faced trouble.
Finally, your little point about how we all walk around with thousands and thousands of petty infractions... That doesn't contradict my salient point.. if all of his ducks were in a row, they wouldn't have done anything. Can you argue with that? Because you certainly aren't going to posit that EVERY person in the US has at least 1 quickly findable, obvious infraction they're committing every second of every day, are you?