The Paratrooper's Online Profile

A private first class in an airborne unit created internet profiles listing his occupation as 'Army/Paratrooper' and describing himself as a 'Pro-White activist.' He posted white-supremacist and anti-government statements on these profiles and on extremist websites, and exchanged instant messages about his views with a military criminal investigator who had set up an undercover account to talk with him. Prosecutors charged that these statements were conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline, or of a nature to bring discredit on the armed forces, under the Army's general article. The defence argued that the statements were protected by the First Amendment, and that the government had offered no evidence connecting them to military discipline or showing that they actually harmed the service's reputation.