TIL that the Whitest Kids U Know sketch "It's Illegal to Say..." was involved in a Supreme Court case where the defendant posted an altered version of the controversial sketch's script with his wife's name being substituted in place of the President.

Douglas Elonis, under the pseudonym “Tone Dougie,” used the social network to post self-styled rap lyrics. Many who knew him saw his posts as threatening, including his boss, who fired him for threatening his co-workers. At trial, Elonis was convicted on four of the five counts and renewed his jury instruction challenge on appeal.

Section 875(c) does not indicate whether the defendant must intend that the communication contain a threat. The “general rule” is that a guilty mind is “a necessary element in the indictment and proof of every crime”

In the U.S., criminal statutes are interpreted to include broadly applicable requirements. This does not mean that a defendant must know that his conduct is illegal, but that he must be aware of the facts that make it illegal. In the case of Elonis, the requirement was that the communication was threatening.

Government fails to show that the instructions in this case require more than a mental state of negligence. The Court declines to address whether a mentalState ofrecklessness would also suffice.