, isn't there only one human being ton plan theat knows whether he meant it or not and that's anthony elonis,. >> that is typically the case, circumstantial evidence, had elonis visited her websites, who had she called in the past? justice ginsburg, how can you prove what's in somebody's mind? you can't really do it. courts do it all the time by looking at things around them. maybe it's the websites he visited, exchanges before, if the court says his intent makes a difference they can't obviously get inside his head. they will need the surrounding circumstances to figure that out. >> clay calvert, thanks for being with us. jamie and sahil, stay where you are. we'll being back. as we look ahead, another case for the high court, a driver for ups, dismissed when she requested alternate duty until after she delivered. young versus united parcel service. in a minute stay with us. >> you're watching "inside story" on aljazeera america. i'm ray suarez. >> you're watching "inside story" on al jazeera america. i'm ray suarez. wednesday the supreme court will hear arguments in the case of young versus

anthony elonis is hoping to get his posts overturned.e posted graphically violent lyrics about his wife. he said they were artistic and free speech. so far, he lost his appeals. ruth bader ginsburg says she will be back on the bench following last week's heart surgery. >>> new concern about sports related concussions after the body of missing ohio state football player kosta karageorge was discovered on sunday. he was found in a dumpster with a handgun nearby. police say it appears karageorge died from a self inflicted gunshot. his parents said he had several concussions and confusion spells and complained of those before he disappeared last wednesday. ohio state officials say they are shocked and saddened by his death. his body was identified because of his tattoos. >>> 39 minutes past the hour. cyber monday. in the united states, online retail sales are expected to reach a record $2.6 billion. a 15% increase from last year. 127 million people are expected to join in at least shop around to get a deal. this is the biggest online shoppin

anthony elonis is hoping to get conviction overturned with his soon to be ex-wife. he posted graphically violent lyrics on facebook. he claims they were artistic and cathartic free speech. >>> israeli security forces shot a palestinian woman after she allegedly stabbed a civilian in the west bank. the civilian was lightly wounded. the spokesperson was taken to nearby hospital in serious condition. we will keep you up to date on the details of the story as they come in. >>> another story we are following this morning. reports of gun battles and reports of explosions in the nigeria city of damaturu. reports of boko haram is launching an attack and intense fighting in that town. we will keep you updated. >>> turning to isis. the u.s.-led collisiul coalitio refocusing on raqqah. more than 30 air strikes hit raqqah overnight. the main target has been around kobani on the syrian border. while this is going on in afghanistan, the taliban is stepping up pressure on the capital. the police chief of kabul resigned following days of deadly attacks by the taliban. the chief did

. >> after his wife left him and took their with to chirp, anthony elonis. prompted a visit from the fbi he lashed out at law enforcement too, little agent lady pull so close, pull my 95, slit her throat. elonis said he wasn't being truthful. now the supreme court which tail its first look at the limits of free speech on social media and decide whether such posts are constitutionally protected, or rise to a true threat which is illegal. the court has never given a clear answer as to what constitutes a true threat. in 1969 it was in favor of a war protestor, and in 2003, the court ruled that cross-burning is not in itself a true threat saying malicious intent has to be proven in order to make it a crime. john elwood is the attorney representing elonis. >> if you know the person you're going to be talking about is placed if fear at that point it becomes criminal. the key is whether he knew they were frightening and said them anyway. >> no matter what the intent behind the postings the impact are the same. >> sticks and stones may break my bones but words can n

. >> reporter: in one post, anthony elonis wrote i'm not going to rest until your body is a mess. soaked in blood and dying from all the little cuts. hurry up and die. in another he scrolled about the most heinous school shooting one can imagine. and health hath no fury like a crazy man in a kindergarten class. a jury convicted elonis of making what the supreme court has called true threats and a judge sentenced him to more than three and a half years in prison. but his lawyer told the justices elonis' statements were just rap lyrics. just therapy. and protected by the first amendment. >> one thing he said repeatedly again and again is it would be wrongful to prosecute me because these aren't threats. >> reporter: samuel aleada said that was like a roadmap for threatening a spouse and getting away with it. put it in rhyme and say i'm an aspiring rap artist. >> when his ex-wife got a protective order, elonis said she should fold it up and see if it would stop a bullet. lower courts have held that a reasonable person would consider that a threat and it was enough to send him to pris

. >> reporter: separated from his wife and fired from his job, anthony elonis turned to pocebook. his postings, most directed at his wife, who left him, were violent. "i'm not going to rest until your body is a mess, soaked in blood and dying from all the little cuts." ♪ i'm going to tie you to the bed and set this house on fire h >> elonis said his posts were like lyrics from rap songs, violent but not serious. he's convicted for making threats, a felony and sentenced to prison. his lawyer john elwood is urging the supreme court to set aside his conviction, saying the posts are protected under the first amendment because he did not intend to harm. >> you can hear this stuff on the radio any day of the week. o e point is just because you say it doesn't mean it's literal. >> reporter: the justices clearly struggled with the complex case, a major test of speech on the internet where people oftenpush the envelope. throughout the hour-long argument, they appeared concerned about making it too easy for the government to prosecute online speech. as justice sonia sotomayor put it, "we've

anthony elonis was convicted when a judge told the jury that the test is would a reasonable personal d them to be legitimate threats? elonis' lawyer is saying to the supreme court that test doesn't work in the internet age when people can put postings on facebook which is where anthony elonis put his material and someone who doesn't know the context, doesn't know him, doesn't understand what's behind it, would read them and not understand them. he says the test should be what's in the mind of the sender. so that's the question. is it the sender's intent or is it the reader's reaction that should determine whether something is a true threat and that's what the supreme court's going to have to decide here. >> and talk to me about justice ruth bader ginsburg. she had a health issue. what's she doing? >> right, she had a stent procedure over the weekend. she was out of the court on thanksgiving -- or out of the hospital on thanksgiving day and all the expectations are in 45 minutes she'll be taking the bench with the rest of the justices in -- when company down to business here at 10:00.

the court is taking up the case of anthony elonis.n aspiring rapper so he could post these violent lyrics and messages on facebook about his former wife who had left him a few months earlier. said he never intended to act on these words and that's why they should not be considered threats. ♪ i don't remember how they got there, but i guess i must have killed them ♪ >> reporter: with heroes like this -- and a sense of humor like this. >> i want to kill the president of the united states of america. i'm not actually saying it. i'm just letting you know that it's illegal to say that. >> reporter: anthony elonis roast post after post on facebook describing ways he could hurt his wife and members of his community. on one post he wrote i'm not going to rest until your body is a mess soaked in blood and the little cuts. hurry up and die. other thoughts on shooting up a school. enough elementary schools in a ten-mime radius to initiate the most heinous school shooting ever imagine and hell hath no furry like a crazy man in a kindergarten clas

anthony elonis, of bethlehem, pennsylvania, is appealing his four- year prison sentence for posting threatening rap lyrics about his ex- wife on facebook. elonis claims he was just blowing off steam, and he never intended to carry out any of the threats. a congressional aide is resigning, after a facebook post criticizing the first daughters caused an uproar on social media. elizabeth lauten called sasha and malia obama classless, for their choice of attire at the national turkey pardoning. she was a communications director for a republican congressman in tennessee. she wrote that the girls should, dress like they deserve respect. not a spot at a bar. lauten later took down the post, but not before it went viral. she later apologized for the comments, saying she judged them in a way she would not have wanted to be judged as a teenager. your favorite girl scout cookies will soon be one click away. >> we're making me laugh just like mom. >> we're making me laugh just like mom. now in many medicare part d plan preferred networks, including united healthcare, humana, aetna, and coventry. at our new

. >> brown: in 2010, anthony elonis began writing facebook posttest about his ex-wife, angry rants. filed a restraining order. elonis was charged with threatening to injury another person and sent to four years in prison. the supreme court have to understand whether the rants are protected under the first amendment. marcia, give us more background. >> mr. elonis was having difficulties after he separated from his wife and children. he was unable to do his job at an amusement park outside of allentown, pennsylvania. he was sent home from work several times but employers because he was crying at his desk and accused of sexual harassment by at least one co-worker ultimately, he was fired by his job, and he did a post involving his co-workers at the amusement park that was not a very good one but he wasn't charged under that. it was the postings that hemade involving violent statements against his wife, against law enforcement officials in particular, an f.b.i. agent who visited his home after the phish began monitoring his posts and also against elementary schools threatening possibly

anthony elonis was convicted of making threats on facebook, but he says he was just kidding when he posted a series of graphically violent rap lyrics on the social networking site. the lyrics talked about killing his estranged wife, shooting up a kindergarten class, and then attacking an fbi agent. in this case the supreme court justices will consider whether online speech should be protected under the first amendment. >>> and also happening now, philadelphia is taking another look at mandatory paid sick leave. a task force submitted its final report to mayor michael nutter this morning. it recommends that businesses with 15 or more employees provide paid sick leave. mayor nutter said he didn't support this idea in the past, but he believes the city's economy is strong enough to now reconsider this idea. the council is expected to consider another paid sick leave bill in 2015. >>> this morning we have new information in the case of a tortured and murdered 3-year-old chester county boy. the school district says school officials followed all protocols and procedures leading up to the little

anthony elonis was convicted of making threats on facebook, but he says he was just kidding when he posted a series of graphically violent rap lyrics on the social networking website. the lyrics talked about killing his estranged wife, shooting a kindergarten class and attacking an fbi agent. in this case, the supreme court justices will consider whether online speech should be protected under the first amendment. >>> president obama will hold a series of meetings today to discuss the situation in ferguson, missouri. the president will focus on his administration's review of federal programs that provide military-style equipment to local police officers. he will also meet with young civil rights leaders and local law enforcement trying to find ways to bridge the racial divide. >>> and in missouri, the ferguson commission will hold its first meeting since the grand jury decision not to indict officer darren wilson. wilson resigned over the weekend, saying he did not want to put the community or his fellow officers at risk. wilson did not receive a severance package and will not receive any

. >> your argument nexus point in case 13-983, anthony elonis versus united states. mr. elwood. >> mr. chief justice and may it please the court. the first amendment permits restriction on the content of speech for a few well-defined, their limited classes of communication clearly supported by history and tradition, cody what this court has called true threats. the government has failed to justify -- >> i'm not sure that the court did either the law or the english language much of a good service when it said true threat. it could mean so me think that it could mean that you really intend to carry it out, you really intend to intimidate the person, or that no one can possibly believe it. so i don't -- >> that's true. >> we can't fault you for siding with the supreme court has said, but it's a most unhelpful phrase. >> and also doesn't help that it was announced in a per curiam decision to didn't have the benefit of merits briefing or argument. but if you look at the tradition, threatening speech was not punishable at common law. and until the late 20th century, american t