Facebook user threatens to kill black people at Alabama fair, adds 'white power' message and Confederate flag. Cops say black man is behind post.



An 18-year-old black man is behind a Facebook post that promised to kill black people at an Alabama fair and used white supremacist imagery, police told AL.com.

What are the details?

The Facebook user indicated in the post that he and his friends “are coming to [the] Opelika Alabama fair to kill every NEGRO that we lay eye contact on so be prepared. WHITE POWER," the outlet said, adding that the poster’s profile included the Confederate battle flag.

Opelika police said they launched an investigation Sept. 19 after learning about the "racially inflammatory" post that included a threat to "shoot attendees of a certain demographic at the upcoming Lee County Fair."

The department added that it "takes threats like these very seriously" and that it would "provide additional officers for security to ensure the safety of all fair attendees."

A day later, police said they had a suspect.

"Officials were able to trace the social media account to a residence in Lafayette, AL," police said. "Through the investigation, 18-year-old Pharrell Smith was developed as a suspect." Lafayette police arrested Smith on "unrelated charges" on Oct. 6, police said.

\u201cFAIR TERRORISTIC THREAT SUSPECT https://t.co/VZtoiMS9QD\u201d
— Opelika Police Department (@Opelika Police Department) 1665091924

Opelika police added that once he's released from the custody of Lafayette police, Smith would be extradited to Lee County and arrested on a terroristic threat charge.

Police added that those with information on the case can contact the Opelika Police Department Detective Division at 334-705-5220 or the Secret Witness Hotline at 334-745-8665 — and anonymous tips can be submitted through the Opelika Police Mobile App.

'Another day... another hoax!'

Among the comments under the police department's Facebook post about the arrest, one reads, "Wow! Another day... another hoax! Let’s hope justice is served and he gets the full amount. Please do... persecutors and judges."

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Court threatens mom with losing child custody unless she gets rid of Confederate flag-painted rock



A New York appellate court has threatened a mother with losing custody of her multiracial child unless she gets rid of a "small" rock near her driveway that is painted with a Confederate flag.

What are the details?

The Albany Times-Union reported that a panel of five judges in the state's second-highest court ruled unanimously that the white woman and the black father of her elementary-age child could retain joint custody of their daughter — but that if the mother did not remove the rock, she could face a "change of circumstances" in the custody battle.

Justice Stanley Pritzker, who authored the court's decision, wrote that during a fact-finding hearing, "the mother testified that she has never used any racial slurs in front of the child or at all," but noted that neither the judge who presided over a prior 2018 ruling nor the child's law guardian address the mother's possession of a "small Confederate flag painted rock near her driveway."

"Given that the child is of mixed race, it would seem apparent that the presence of the flag is not in the child's best interests, as the mother must encourage and teach the child to embrace her mixed race identity, rather than thrust her into a world that only makes sense through the tortured lens of cognitive dissonance," Pritzker wrote.

"Further, and viewed pragmatically, the presence of the Confederate flag is a symbol inflaming the already strained relationship between the parties," the judge continued. "As such, while recognizing that the First Amendment protects the mother's right to display the flag if it is not removed by June 1, 2021, its continued presence shall constitute a change in circumstances and Family Court shall factor this into any future best interests analysis."

According to The Washington Post, the court's decision was clear: "The rock puts the woman's child custody at risk." The newspaper noted that the mother was not represented by an attorney.

Jason Leifer, the attorney serving as the child's law guardian, told the Times-Union that while he agrees the rock needs to go, he's concerned about the precedent the court's ruling could set for future custody battles between parents.

"I think parties will now raise objections to many symbols and opinions held by the other party, including some that the majority of society does not find offensive," Leifer told the outlet. "What's going to have to happen is this — if the issue is raised the court will need to hear evidence of the child how the child's well-being is negatively affected by a parent's views and opinions. In some cases this will be easy, such as if a child is being indoctrinated into a hate group, but in many cases it won't be so easy."

Leifer told the Associated Press, "I just think that this thing opens a door to litigating... someone's personal opinions on something."

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New York bans sale of Confederate flags and other 'symbols of hate'; Gov. Cuomo admits bill he just signed has First Amendment problems



New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Tuesday outlawing the sale of Confederate battle flags, Nazi paraphernalia, and anything else deemed a "symbol of hate" on state property.

The bill, Spectrum News reported, builds on attempts to ban the sale and display of Confederate flags at fairgrounds.

Cuomo acknowledged even as he signed the bill that it may well have some First Amendment problems.

What does the bill do?

The bill bars anyone from selling or displaying hate symbols on public grounds unless it serves an educational or historical purpose.

The bill's summary claimed that the definition of "symbol of hate" to be "symbols of white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideology or the Battle Flag of the Confederacy."

However, the actual text of the bill does not offer such a clear definition.

According to the bill's text, "the term 'symbols of hate' shall include, but not be limited to, symbols of white supremacy, neo-Nazi ideology or the battle flag of the Confederacy," leaving the definition of "symbols of hate" open to bureaucrats' interpretation.

Cuomo admits free speech problems

In a statement accompanying his bill signing, Cuomo admitted that the new law may have First Amendment problems and might need to be fixed now that it has been signed, the New York Post noted.

"This country faces a pervasive, growing attitude of intolerance and hate — what I have referred to in the body politic as an American cancer," Cuomo said, according to the Post. "By limiting the display and sale of the confederate flag, Nazi swastika and other symbols of hatred from being displayed or sold on state property, including the state fairgrounds, this will help safeguard New Yorkers from the fear-installing effects of these abhorrent symbols."

But, he added, the law needs to be tweaked to "balance" New York's priorities with U.S. free speech protections.

"While I fully support the spirit of this legislation, certain technical changes are necessary to balance the State's interests in preventing the use of hate symbols on state land with free speech protections embodied in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution," he said.

The governor's office told the Post that "the governor's legal team will be reviewing the bill in consultation with the state Legislature to make a possible amendment."

The bill's lead sponsor, state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, a Democrat, touted the governor's signing, saying, "With the signing of my bill, we are drawing a clear line in the sand. By limiting hateful symbols from being glorified on state property, New York will denounce images that represent violence while still acknowledging our nation's shameful history of oppression," Spectrum News reported.

She added that the new law will let New York "discourage the perpetuation of symbols that do not represent our values of justice and inclusion" without noting exactly what could eventually be added to the state's list of proscribed "symbols."

Biaggi's press secretary later told the Post that there will be an amendment to the bill that "limits the prohibitions at the state fair, to ensure that we are respecting the protections that the Supreme Court has recognized for individuals and vendors at state fairs to exercise their First Amendment rights."

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