BOULDER, Colo.—The Boulder chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says it finds disturbing a conviction of a man based only on his words.
A jury on April 6 convicted 23-year-old Zachrey Harris of a misdemeanor charge of bias-motivated harassment. He faces up to 18 months in jail.
A co-defendant was convicted April 21 of a felony charge of a bias-motivated crime and second-degree assault in an attack on a University of Colorado student from Nigeria last September.
Unlike his co-defendant, Harris did not face accusations of assault.
The Camera newspaper reports Boulder ACLU chairman Judd Golden says hateful words alone shouldn’t be a crime. Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett says bias-motivated harassment is the same as other harassment laws, and the government has placed some limits on First Amendment rights.
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Information from: Daily Camera,
