High court may extend rights to online stalkers

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court heard a free speech case on Wednesday and sounded ready to make it much harder to prosecute alleged online stalkers who repeatedly send unwanted and harassing messages that leave the victim upset and frightened.

At issue is whether prosecutors must prove the online stalker intended to make true threats.

Coles Whalen, a Colorado musician, said she quit performing in public after receiving menacing messages over two years from a man she never met.

“The thousands of unstable messages sent to me were life threatening and life altering,” she said. “I was terrified that I was being followed and could be hurt at any moment; I had no choice but to step back from my dream, a music career that I had worked very hard to build.”

Some messages invited her to “come out for coffee.” Others referred to seeing her in public. A few sounded angry. “Die. Don’t need you.”

She told friends the messages were “weird” and “creepy,” and she repeatedly blocked them on Facebook. But the messages continued, and she complained to police.

Billy Ray Counterman was prosecuted for stalking and causing emotional distress. His defense attorneys said he was “delusional” and suffered from mental illness, but he did not intend to threaten Whalen.

He was convicted by a jury and given 4 1/2 years in prison, in part because he had an earlier conviction for sending threats online.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal, and most of the justices — conservatives and liberal — sounded sympathetic to his First Amendment claim.