Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/482332
ByKristinJ.Bender The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO JanetNa- politano, the president of the University of Califor- nia system and former U.S. Homeland Security secre- tary, publicly apologized Thursday for calling chants by students protesting tu- ition hikes "crap," a remark overheard on an open mi- crophone at a board of re- gents meeting. Napolitano, also a former Arizona governor, opened a regents meeting by express- ing contrition, a day after the university's recording of a Wednesday gathering captured her saying, "We don't have to listen to this crap," when she leaned over to the board chairman who had just activated his micro- phone. The comment came af- ter several dozen students of the nation's largest uni- versity system stripped off their shirts at the Wednes- day meeting, tossed fake money in the air and stood on chairs chanting "Egre- gious. Step off it. Put peo- ple over profits." Students were protest- ing tuition increases of up to 5 percent in each of the next five years, what they say is a lack of support for black students at UC Berke- ley, and concern that a pos- sible new campus in Rich- mond would displace low- income residents. Napolitano apologized Thursday "for using a word that she doesn't normally use, which was picked up on the mike, and suggested that many of us have been in sim- ilar situation where an inad- vertent comment was over- heard,"DianneKlein,spokes- woman for the University of California Office of the Pres- ident, said in an email. Klein said the time al- lotted for public com- ments had ended Wednes- day when protesters inter- rupted. "This went on for quite some time and when the participants ignored police instructions to end their protest, the board chair be- gan following the estab- lished procedure to tempo- rarily shut down the meet- ing," Klein said. Napolitano's comment reflected her personal frus- tration with disruptions that hinder discussions on topics "vital to the future of the university and the edu- cation of its students," Klein said. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Na po li ta no a po lo gi ze s fo r di sp ar ag in g pr ot es t JEFFCHIU—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE University of California president Janet Napolitano talks with Gov. Jerry Brown during a UC Board of Regents meeting in San Francisco. The Associated Press CORONADO Navy officials say a SEAL killed when his parachute malfunctioned during training in Southern California was a 29-year-old Colorado man who com- pleted basic training to be- come a SEAL last year. Naval Special Warfare Group One said Thurs- day that Jason Kortz of Highlands Ranch, Colo- rado, died from injuries sustained during the acci- dent in Perris on Wednes- day. The Navy is investi- gating why the parachute malfunctioned. It released no further details. Naval Special Warfare Group One is the Coro- nado-based SEALs group to which the sailor was as- signed. Kortz enlisted in the Navy in 2012 and completed basic training for the SEALs last year in Coronado. He is survived by his wife, parents and brother. PARACHUTE JUMP Na vy i de nt ifi es SE AL k ill ed i n tr ai ni ng a cc id en t By Martha Bellisle The Associated Press SEATTLE A Washington man who posted Face- book comments threat- ening a former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer will avoid prison but has been ordered to stay off social media sites in a case that is part of a broader legal de- bate about when social me- dia rants go beyond hyper- bole and become a crime. A judge handed down Jaleel Abdul-Jabbaar's sen- tence Thursday, saying it was one of the hardest he has had to decide. U.S. District Judge Rob- ert Lasnik noted that in a separate case — the re- cent shooting deaths of two New York officers — the gunman had threat- ened online to kill police. But Lasnik accepted the defense argument that Ab- dul-Jabbaar's comments were simply a strong re- action to the unfolding events in Ferguson, and he had no intention of follow- ing through on his threat to shoot Darren Wilson. The judge ordered Ab- dul-Jabbaar to spend three years on supervised re- lease. But he said the two months Abdul-Jabbaar al- ready spent in jail was enough time behind bars. Adbul-Jabbaar pleaded guilty Feb. 2 for posting a threat against Wilson on Facebook that included a call to "give back those bullets that Police Officer Darren Wilson fired into the body of Mike Brown." Federal prosecutors said Abdul-Jabbaar posted in- flammatory messages for months after the Aug. 9 killing of Brown sparked protests nationwide. The federal charge of making an interstate threat carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. But prosecutors recom- mended that Abdul-Jab- baar be sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release be- cause he cooperated with state prosecutors in an un- related shooting case. The plea deal included dis- missal of charges for his other threatening mes- sages. The popularity of so- cial media sites like Face- book and its users' will- ingness to speak their minds have landed peo- ple in jail and left lawyers arguing over what consti- tutes a "true threat" — one not protected by the First Amendment — and what is simply an exercise of First Amendment free speech. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in De- cember on another Face- book threat case that legal experts say could answer some of those questions. When Anthony Elonis' wife left him, he vented on his Facebook page by post- ing violent threats against her in the form of rap lyr- ics. The justices are con- sidering whether an "ob- jective" standard should be used in these cases, meaning an average per- son would believe the writer intended to harm someone, or whether the threat was "subjective," meaning he was just vent- ing and didn't intend to hurt anyone. "Facebook 'threats' may be different because the person is not 'send- ing them' to the intended target; indeed, the target may find out from some- one else," said Loyola Law School Professor Marcy Strauss. "It also may de- pend on whether the 'threat' is written on the 'victim's' wall, or whether it is posted on the speaker's. "Whether that is impor- tant may turn on the stan- dard the Supreme Court adopts." Another Seattle man, Mark Brian Verhul, was sentenced last year to four years in prison for posting on Facebook a photograph and message that said "This is the cop I am go- ing to kill." The officer pic- tured had arrested Verhul and he was angry about it. 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