U.S. Supreme Court Hears Colorado Stalking Case This Week

On Wednesday, April 19, the U.S. Supreme Court will take up the case of 61-year-old Billy Raymond Counterman, who was convicted of stalking Colorado singer-songwriter Coles Whalen and making “true threats” against her online. The legal question: Whether six years of “creepy” Facebook messages and sick remarks constitute harassment or qualify as free speech.

Supporters of Counterman’s high-court appeal argue that his 2017 stalking conviction — while extremely unsettling from the outside looking in — is much bigger than the actual circumstances and facts surrounding the case, and could ultimately set a “chilling” precedent that, if upheld, would allow thin-skinned politicians to one day weaponize the court’s ruling against online critics.