Commonwealth v. Walters

This case raises the question whether a posting to the Web site Facebook may constitute a threat within the meaning of the stalking statute, G. L. c. 265, § 43 (a) (§ 43 [a]). We conclude that although content posted to Facebook may qualify as a threat as defined in the statute, in this particular case, a reasonable jury could not have found that the defendant’s Facebook profile page constituted such a threat. We therefore vacate the defendant’s conviction of stalking. The defendant’s remaining convictions of criminal harassment, criminal violation of a restraining order pursuant to G. L. c.…