Man arrested for not using Twitter

[Philidor]

James A Roppo of Island Def Jam Records was detained on assault charges after resisting police demands to use the micro-blogging site Twitter to restrain a crowd of teenage girls hoping for Bieber's autograph.

Daily Telegraph

Justin Bieber

At a court hearing on Saturday, prosecutors condemned Rocco's "reckless behaviour" and claimed he helped create "very dangerous situation" with children being pushed against the glass of a second-floor balcony.

"It's a miracle more kids and more people weren't injured," said Diane Peress, the Nassau assistant district attorney.

Roppo denies all the charges and his record label has expressed astonishment that he faces criminal charges for not Twittering.

[periodinstrumentfan]

now that's crazy ... now you can get sued for using & not using the internet....

[Philidor]

Originally Posted by periodinstrumentfan

I love that smilie.

[periodinstrumentfan]

@Phili
it's the rudest i can find ...

[marquis66]

In all fairness, the title does seem a little over the top... The real crux of the issue is this:

"Officers wanted Roppo to cancel the 15-year-old Canadian star's album signing at a shopping centre in Long Island, New York after the crowd of pop fans swelled to 3,000 and began to turn aggressive"

I don't really think they would have cared how he did it.

[nahatsu]

I followed the link from Twitter, arriving at the post above!
Well for goodness sakes...
I never ceased to be amazed at the sheer depth of stupidity....
And, wonders will never cease either!

"Thou Shalt Write upon the pages of Twitter!"

[Philidor]

Originally Posted by marquis66

In all fairness, the title does seem a little over the top... The real crux of the issue is this:

"Officers wanted Roppo to cancel the 15-year-old Canadian star's album signing at a shopping centre in Long Island, New York after the crowd of pop fans swelled to 3,000 and began to turn aggressive"

I don't really think they would have cared how he did it.

Well, the NY Times is telling the same story.

James Roppo, a vice president of Island Def Jam Records, which is releasing Mr. Bieber’s first album, “My World,“ this week, was charged with endangering the welfare of children and obstructing governmental administration for refusing to send a Twitter message asking the crowd to disperse. Mr. Bieber posted his own Twitter message to fans, saying that the police would not allow him to enter the building, and that they had threatened to arrest him if he did not leave. Island Records later apologized to fans in a written statement.

Source

Teenybop Bloodlust

[marquis66]

Perhaps I am just being naive here, but the stories just seem sensational.

Inciting a riot = punishable offense =/= Not using twitter

But the newspapers, desperate to get readers are... embellishing the exactness of the reason he was arrested. Problem is that it is working.

If I tweeted "There is a Fire at the Maine Mall!", and it caused a problem, I wouldn't get arrested for refusing to recant... I would be arrested for causing the scene in the first place.

[Philidor]

Originally Posted by marquis66

Perhaps I am just being naive here, but the stories just seem sensational.

Inciting a riot = punishable offense =/= Not using twitter

But the newspapers, desperate to get readers are... embellishing the exactness of the reason he was arrested. Problem is that it is working.

If I tweeted "There is a Fire at the Maine Mall!", and it caused a problem, I wouldn't get arrested for refusing to recant... I would be arrested for causing the scene in the first place.

You may be right. Here's what the cops say:

Roppo was asked by police to assist in crowd dispersion by tweeting the cancellation of the Bieber event, apparently he did not.

"We asked for his help in getting the crowd to go away by sending out a Twitter message," said Nassau County Police Det. Lt. Kevin Smith. "By not cooperating with us, we feel he put lives in danger and the public at risk."

Source

I suspect the cops were terrified. I would be. Those screaming 13 yr old girls sound like the playground scene from 'The Birds'.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPI5BXR97_g"]YouTube- Justin Bieber Roosevelt Fields Mall; 11.20.09[/ame]

[eves]

Why did he refuse to cooperate? Did they not ask him nicely, or something...