Skip to main content

A girl was threatened with jail over COVID-19 social media posts. A judge ruled in her favor

Free Speech,Social Media,Justice

From the Left

A federal judge has ruled in favor of a high school girl who said she was threatened with jail if she didn't take down her social media posts about her brush with COVID-19 last year.

Amyiah Cohoon, then a sophomore, took a spring break trip to Florida with the Westfield Area High School band in 2020. The students returned to Wisconsin on March 15, earlier than planned, because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Cohoon posted on Instagram that she thought she had been infected, had been to hospitals, and though she tested negative, her doctors thought she probably had had it earlier. In a final post, she is wearing an oxygen mask and says she's beaten COVID-19, and urges others to stay safe.

On March 27, Marquette County Sheriff's Sgt. Cameron Klump came to the Cohoon home and said Sheriff Joseph Konrath had ordered the posts be taken down, as he didn't believe there were any confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county. 

AllSides Picks

More News about Free Speech

News from the Left

News from the Center

News from the Right