Attorney discusses first amendment rights in wake of alleged Gull Lake threat

RICHLAND, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - The former Gull Lake High School student, who reportedly posted a song with potentially threatening lyrics to YouTube will not face charges.

On Thursday, Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas said they won't be seeking charges against the teen.

He adds that no crime had been committed that they could determine.

Newschannel 3 sat down with an attorney to find out just how far your First Amendment rights will carry you.

Tuesday, Gull Lake Community Schools sent out a robo-call to parents, alerting them to a possible threat.

In that call, the Superintendent said a former student wrote a song that contained lyrics describing violence against the district.

That song was posted to YouTube, but has since been removed.

"In this case, if it didn't even get past step one, that tells me the Sheriff doesn't think it was a legitimate threat, and that might be because of who it's coming from, the circumstances that was made, and you know, when they look at...what the individual's actually capable of, they realize it was a totally empty threat," said attorney Don Smith, with Willis Law.

But how far is too far? And at what point is someone no longer protected under the First Amendment?

The Sheriff's Department will not say what those lryics were, but Smith says for authorities to pursue the case, it would have to be a specific threat that causes an imminent risk to people.

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Attorney discusses first amendment rights in wake of alleged Gull Lake threat