University of Tennessee won’t punish Instapundit after offensive tweet

Late last week, popular blogger Glenn Reynolds — better known online as Instapundit — was briefly suspended from Twitter for tweeting about the Charlotte, N.C., riots. Reynolds’ tweet suggested those surrounded in their vehicles by violent rioters “run them down.”

Reynolds deleted the tweet and was reinstated on Twitter after a few hours. But Reynolds is also a professor of law at the University of Tennessee College of Law, and after a public backlash, UT Law announced it would “investigate” the situation.

In a message to students sent Tuesday, UT dean Melanie Wilson announced that the school would take “no disciplinary action” against Reynolds, but acknowledged the outrage surrounding his tweet.

“The tweet was an exercise of his First Amendment rights,” Wilson wrote. “Nevertheless, the tweet offended many members of our community and beyond, and I understand the hurt and frustration they feel.”

Reynolds also sent an email to students apologizing for the tweet in which he appeared to be advocating violence against Charlotte rioters.

“Those words can be taken as encouragement of drivers going out of their way to run down protesters. I meant no such thing, and I’m sorry it seemed to many that I did. What I meant was that drivers who feel their lives are in danger from a violent mob should not stop their vehicles,” Reynolds wrote.

“I remember Reginald Denny, a truck driver who was beaten nearly to death by a mob during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. My tweet should have said, ‘Keep driving,’ or ‘Don’t stop.’ I was upset, and it was a bad tweet. I do not support violence except in cases of clear self-defense.”

Despite what appeared to be a clear incitement of violence, Foundation of Individual Rights in Education attorney Robert Shibley was adamant that the tweet was protected by the First Amendment.

Shibley wrote that in order for Reynolds’ tweet to rise to the level of encouraging illegal violence, one would have to believe that drivers where the riots took place were on Twitter while driving, following Reynolds on Twitter, read the tweet and that Reynolds “had a substantial enough level of control or influence over those drivers that they would be likely to immediately follow his advocacy.”

This, Shibley wrote, was “extremely unlikely.”

Reynolds’ tweet may have been offensive, but I’m glad his life wasn’t ruined by a momentary lack of judgment.

Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.

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