The Petition Goal:

We are petitioning State Lawmakers, State Attorneys, and Victim Advocacy Groups to enforce stricter timelines for victim protection and to hold coordinated digital harassment groups legally accountable under existing stalking statutes.

The Issue: When "Free Speech" is Weaponized into a Campaign of Obsession

Many people mistakenly believe that the First Amendment provides a blanket shield for posting whatever they want about an individual, an ex-spouse, or their new family. However, the law is clear: freedom of speech is not freedom to harass. Today, online harassment is more rampant than ever, and navigating it can feel incredibly isolating.

Too many perpetrators are successfully skirting the law by hiding behind the defense of "just voicing an opinion." Hiding behind the First Amendment fails entirely when words are recklessly used to target an individual's life, livelihood, family, and peace of mind.

The line between protected speech and criminal harassment comes down to intent, recklessness, and conduct:

• The Recklessness Standard: In Counterman v. Colorado (2023), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that true threats and stalking are not protected by the First Amendment. The Court established that a speaker can be prosecuted if they act recklessly—meaning they consciously disregard a substantial risk that their repeated communications will cause a reasonable person severe emotional distress or fear.

• A Targeted Course of Conduct: Freedom of speech protects opinions, but it does not protect a relentless, multi-platform course of conduct. Aggressively monitoring, tag-bombing, or coordinating public smear campaigns crosses from speech into illegal intimidation.

• Using Proxies to Bypass the Law: Perpetrators cannot bypass harassment laws by forcing third parties or online group members to do their dirty work. When an individual uses tags or anonymous online support groups to direct a digital ambush toward a specific person, it serves absolutely no legitimate purpose. It is designed solely to inflict severe emotional and financial distress.

The Reality: The High Cost of Slow Protection

It shouldn't be this hard to get protection. Victims of coordinated stalking face real-world, terrifying consequences while waiting for the slow wheels of bureaucracy to turn. Many victims—including pregnant mothers and parents trying to protect minor children—are subjected to verbal threats, in-person stalking at court proceedings, and targeted intimidation during mandatory custody exchanges.

When a stalker intentionally targets a victim's livelihood by repeatedly blasting speculative, malicious declarations about their pending legal matters to their employers or clients, they cross the line into illegal cyberstalking under statutes like Florida Statute § 784.048.

When parents or their family members by proxy engage in this behavior, the fallout directly damages children by modeling a criminal disregard for boundaries and warping the child's cognitive reality.

Our Call to Action

We are demanding that the justice system stop allowing administrative delays to operate as a green light for perpetrators to escalate their torment. Documenting these repeated violations is powerful; as the pattern builds, the perpetrator eventually crosses the legal line where the courts must step in.

We demand:

1. Immediate Protective Interventions: Swift, expedited processing of filing decisions when a course of conduct and physical or verbal threats have been verified by law enforcement.

2. Accountability for Digital Ambushes: Strict enforcement of stalking laws against individuals who orchestrate third-party "tag-bombing" and mob harassment in online groups.

3. Protection Over Bureaucracy: Ensuring that administrative handoffs or internal conflicts within State Attorney offices do not leave vulnerable victims unprotected while files sit on desks.

Perpetrators who skirt the law must be punished. You have a right to your opinion, but you do not have a right to a campaign of obsession. When speech is used as a weapon to stalk and intimidate, the First Amendment no longer protects you.

Sign this petition to demand that our State Attorneys and lawmakers prioritize immediate victim safety and shut down the digital loopholes weaponized by stalkers.

#𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 #stalkingawareness #harassmentawareness #PutKidsFirst