Man Arrested On Felony Charge For Ebola Joke Inside Cleveland Casino

Possible knee-jerk reaction and panic.

A man was arrested in a casino for telling a dealer he was getting away from his wife who has Ebola !!!!

Don't blame people for being suspicious when it comes to incurable diseases !!!

An ill-advised Ebola joke has landed an Ohio man behind bars on a felony charge, records show.

Emanuel Smith, 60, was gambling Wednesday at the Horseshoe Casino in Cleveland when he allegedly told a dealer that he was there as a way to avoid his ex-wife, who was stricken with Ebola.

Smith, a retired municipal employee, claimed that his former spouse had recently returned to Cleveland from West Africa.

Gambler, 60, Arrested On Felony Charge For Ebola Joke Inside Cleveland Casino

Timing *IS* Everything !!

Freedom of speech doesn't really mean much if you say something and end up in jail for it.

Felony charge for a joke? You want to send a 60 year old to jail for a joke.
In the country that claims extraordinary rights are guaranteed.

The moment they knew it wasn't serious, they should move on and deal with something that is.
Instead, they'd rather have a kangaroo court set up for the taxpayer to pay for a joke.

From the link:

charged with inducing panic

Can we get some CDC officials charged as well?

a reply to: xuenchen

I wonder if it would have gone differently if he was white. I hear dozens of Ebola jokes a day in my mostly white town, including from children.

How about every news network as well?
a reply to: kosmicjack

My daughter was at the dr office and they asked her if she had recently traveled to Africa. She said yes she had. She said they looked horrified. She then told them she was just joking. I'm so glad she didn't get thrown in jail.

Star and flag!

It will be interesting to see how this thread goes. So many ebola threads have people screaming to close the borders and sue anyone that may have it and went anywhere but a bubble...and many curiously enough are huge advocates of less government intrusion especially free speech. But you dont yell "fire" in a theater...
felony is a bit much if the guy fessed up and said it was a bad joke. Criminal mischief okay, I can see that.

originally posted by: tavi45
a reply to: xuenchen

I wonder if it would have gone differently if he was white. I hear dozens of Ebola jokes a day in my mostly white town, including from children.

Hmmm.

I'm not quite understanding the racial connection.

Puzzling.

I bet lots of people were involved in this episode.

a reply to: xuenchen

The article says he was charged with "inducing panic, a felony, and criminal trespass." I'm curious, how can he be charged with criminal trespass at that point? I'm sure he has a ban on him now, and I would consider if he went back there a problem.

Freedom of speech has never included anything that could or would incite panic. Yell "fire" in a crowded building and the same thing will happen. If caught you'll end up in jail.

Contextually we see the word "joke" in the story. But was it said in a joking manner, with a laugh and a wink? Or was it said in a serious manner to get a rise out of bystanders or the dealer? These things do matter.

With that said, if I were a judge I would drop the charges BUT make the man spend 21 days in isolation for observation just to be sure he was joking. That might teach him the right way to tell a joke.

a reply to: xuenchen

It's coming from Africa so people are suspicious of those who appear African. The guy who got taken off the plane for an Ebola joke was also black. I hear tons and tons of Ebola jokes by me but no one has freaked out.

The racial connection is that I have yet to see a story of a non black person making a joke about ebola and getting arrested. Feel free to show me some if they exist.

this is getting ridiculous...jailed for a joke about ebola......there is one side no one has mentioned yet but was this guy on a winning streak ?...can we be sure they didnt set him up because he was cleaning out the house ?

a reply to: Hefficide

Can't really argue with this logic in relation to my post. I agree, the context of how it's said would ultimately be the deciding factor in whether or not the charge is laid, but I can't help but feel that somehow diminishes freedom of speech in a way. Seems like they should change the semantics behind the constitution if it's not a universal thing, where you can pick and choose which statements or how they are said which determines whether or not it's "free".

originally posted by: yourmaker
a reply to: Hefficidebut I can't help but feel that somehow diminishes freedom of speech in a way. Seems like they should change the semantics behind the constitution if it's not a universal thing, where you can pick and choose which statements or how they are said which determines whether or not it's "free".

They decided in Schenck v. United States in 1919 and expanded on it in Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969.

If you spread false information that incites panic then you broke the law on free speech. It's been that way for a long time (hence the warning signs at airports about the importance of not making bomb jokes).

a reply to: xuenchen



A felony? Really? That's absurd. He sisnt threaten anyone. I think no crime unless they can prove his joke was intenses to incite public panic.. then disturbing the peace max.

The ebola scare is to create more laws.. come on guys. Know this.

Again the deal here is intent. It seems clear that this was a joke with no ill intentions. OVERKILL

Geez everyone where I work would be in prison by this standard. The jokes are everywhere. It's a coping method. This is totally ridiculous.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

That's kind of the caveat though... Where you work. IE where people know each other and have a guage for the fact that it is a joke.

If you were to say walk into your local Wal Mart and tell the cashier "I really shouldn't be here, I was directly exposed to Ebola recently..." chances are that you'd find blue lights in your rear-view mirror rather quickly. Then again, if you said it with a laugh and a "just kidding"? Not so much.

a reply to: xuenchen

Sometimes you have to wonder if people think before saying things like this in public. It's one thing about joking about it among friends who know you in the privacy of your own home, but to say something like that in public when so many people are worried about this virus, is really careless.

a reply to: Hefficide

Well to be honest, I've heard jokes at the bank, the gas station, and at the urgent care so far too.

Even if you don't know someone, you can usually tell they're joking, and even if you can't, if they're deadpanning it or dry-humoring it, you can still take a breath and find out for sure instead of overreacting like this.