Tweet of power: fake account offense.

• Author: Soave, Robby
• Position: Citings - Brief article

Having a sense of humor evidently isn't a qualification to be mayor. Peoria, Illinois, resident Jon Daniel found that out the hard way after creating a fake Twitter account that made fun of the city's mayor, Jim Ardis.

Since the account initially portrayed itself as authentically belonging to Ardis, the mayor claimed that Daniel was falsely impersonating a public official. Within hours of discovering the offending account--which had an audience of just 50 followers--Ardis instructed the police to track down the tweeter. The investigation continued even after the account stopped producing new tweets. Cops eventually figured out it was Daniel, raided and ransacked his home, confiscated his possessions, arrested his friends for marijuana possession, and hauled him off to jail to face charges.

It was...