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  • 2019-07-10 (xsd:date)
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  • Did Rep. Frederica Wilson Advocate Prosecuting People Who 'Make Fun' of Congress? (en)
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  • On July 2, 2019, amidst a controversy over the conditions at migrant detention centers, U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson of Florida led a congressional delegation that toured the Homestead Temporary Shelter in Homestead, Florida, a 3,200-bed migrant children's detention center operated by a private, for-profit firm (Comprehensive Health Services, Inc.). At a press conference afterwards, Wilson and others discussed what they had seen on their tour of the detention facility and fielded questions from reporters, but one statement of Wilson's garnered the most press after it was circulated (in isolation) via Twitter: Those people who are online making fun of members of Congress are a disgrace, and there's no need for anyone to think that is unacceptable [sic]. We're going to shut them down, and work with whoever it is to shut them down, and they should be prosecuted. You cannot intimidate members of Congress, threaten members of Congress, it is against the law, and it's a shame in this United States of America. The statement was used, devoid of context, in memes that presented it as if Wilson had advocated prosecuting Americans for free speech and sending people to jail for sharing opinions: Likewise, several right-leaning websites, such as the Daily Wire and the Washington Times, reproduced Wilson's comments absent of any context, employing headlines (Frederica Wilson: People ‘Should Be Prosecuted’ for ‘Making Fun of Members of Congress’ Online) and article text that suggested the representative had advocated online pranksters be prosecuted merely for poking fun at members of Congress: The missing context that was completely omitted by the Daily Wire and the Washington Times was that the day before the congressional delegation toured the Homestead detention facility, ProPublica had published an article revealing the existence of a secret Facebook populated by more than 9,000 former and current Border Patrol agents. Postings to that group included messages and memes depicting or suggesting demeaning and violent acts against members of Congress, including those members who would be touring migrant detention centers: As can be seen in a longer video of the press conference that followed the Homestead Temporary Shelter tour, Wilson was responding to a question from a reporter when she made the statement in question And as other news outlets noted, Wilson was clearly referring to shutting down the secret Facebook group and seeking prosecution of persons who posted material online intended to intimidate or threaten members of Congress (acts which are already illegal); she was not advocating jailing anyone who simply used the internet as a medium for poking fun at Congress. Her response to the reporter's question can be heard after the 8:16 mark in this video): Neither the Daily Wire's nor the Washington Times' articles about Wilson included any mention whatsoever of the Facebook group the representative was referencing, nor did either offer any of the context that surrounded her remarks. (en)
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