U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik on Thursday told Jaleel Abdul-Jabbaar that he’ll be on supervised release for three years. Lasnik says the two months Abdul-Jabbaar already spent in jail were an adequate term behind bars.
Abdul-Jabbar’s case is part of a broader legal debate over the point at which social media rants go beyond hyperbole and become criminal acts.
The judge says the case was difficult. But he says he accepted the argument that Abdul-Jabbar’s comments were simply a strong reaction to events in Ferguson, and he didn’t intend to follow through on a threat to shoot Darren Wilson.
