<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif;font-size:12pt"><h1 class="headline">Indiana official fired for tweets about protests</h1>
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<span>By <a href="http://www.salon.com/author/justin_elliott/index.html">Justin Elliott</a></span>
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<div class="credit">MySpace via TalkingPointsMemo</div>
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<p>Another week, another reminder that public figures should tread carefully on Twitter.</p>
<p>The Indiana Attorney General's Office announced today that Deputy
AG Jeffrey Cox is "no longer employed" by the office following a <a target="_blank" href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/indiana-official-jeff-cox-live-ammunition-against-wisconsin-protesters">colloquy</a> between Cox and Mother Jones journalist Adam Weinstein on Twitter over the weekend.</p>
<p>It started when Cox, who is known as "JCCentCom" on Twitter,
responded to a Mother Jones tweet about the possibility that riot police
would be dispatched to clear protesters Wisconsin with the exhortation
to "use live ammunition."</p>
<p>Weinstein, who at that point did not know the identity of JCCentCom, <a target="_blank" href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/indiana-official-jeff-cox-live-ammunition-against-wisconsin-protesters">explains</a> what happened next:</p>
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<p>From my own Twitter account, I confronted the user, JCCentCom. He
tweeted back that the demonstrators were "political enemies" and
"thugs" who were "physically threatening legally elected officials." In
response to such behavior, he said, "You're damned right I advocate
deadly force." He later called me a "typical leftist," adding, "liberals
hate police."</p>
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<p>Mother Jones subsequently discovered that Cox maintained a blog, Pro Cynic, that contained regular Nazi analogies and the like.</p>
<p>Following the publication of the magazine's article, the AG's
office reviewed Cox's statements and found them too much to handle.</p>
<p>"Civility and courtesy toward all members of the public are very
important to the Indiana Attorney General's Office. We respect
individuals' First Amendment right to express their personal views on
private online forums, but as public servants we are held by the public
to a higher standard, and we should strive for civility," the office
said in a statement.</p>
</div><br><br><div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><font face="Tahoma" size="2"><hr size="1"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> "nickgier@roadrunner.com" <nickgier@roadrunner.com><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> vision2020@moscow.com<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Wed, February 23, 2011 11:53:29 AM<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> [Vision2020] IA Deputy AG: "Use Live Ammo" against union demonstrators<br></font><br>
Greetings:<br><br>People for the American Way reports as follows: "A deputy attorney general in Indiana on Saturday suggested on Twitter to "use live ammunition" against protesters in Madison, Wisconsin. In a back-and-forth with a writer for Mother Jones magazine, he followed up, "You're damned right I advocate deadly force."<br><br>Commentators have been comparing the peaceful protesters in Wisconsin to those in Tahrir Square. I always wondered how gun-loving Americans would react. Now my worst fears have been validated. I expected the Tea Party folks to say this (and perhaps they already have) but no a government official.<br><br>Nick <br><br>=======================================================<br> List services made available by First Step Internet, <br> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <br><span> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.fsr.net">http://www.fsr.net</a> </span><br> mailto:<a ymailto="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com" href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">Vision2020@moscow.com</a><br>=======================================================<br></div></div>
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