If you’ve ever been “sub-tweeted,” then you know that it’s not a good feeling. Sub-tweeting is the social phenomenon that occurs when someone tweets about you without “@mentioning” you, which gives you a notification. While sub-tweeting is seen mostly as a petty social faux pas, consistently tweeting “at” or about someone after they’ve made efforts to block you could become criminal.

Two women–Heather Reilly and Stephanie Guthrie–who are active on Twitter, filed a lawsuit against Gregory Alan Elliott, who allegedly tweeted at them and about them constantly. Elliott was charged with criminal harassment, marking it the first harassment case in memory to hinge exclusively on online contact.

After they briefly considered hiring Elliott to provide graphic design work, he and Guthrie launched into a Twitter fight about then-Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and feminist objections to certain video games. According to Guthrie and Reilly’s claim, Elliott tweeted frightening and hurtful statements about the two which caused them to fear for their safety. This material included one tweet mentioning their location at the time, saying “A whole lot of ugly at the Cadillac Lounge tonight.”

The two of them blocked Elliott on Twitter, but he was still able to tweet about them, and use hashtags they were likely to see. The Canadian criminal code prohibits anyone from knowingly or recklessly harassing another person through conduct that causes that person reasonably fear for their safety. Ultimately, the judge held that Elliott didn’t definitively know that he was harassing them, as the women continued to tweet back about his comments. This, in the court’s opinion, elevated the exchanges to political discourse, and that while it was impassioned, it didn’t cross the line into causing safety concerns. Elliott was found not guilty, meaning that for now, the distinction between political arguments and personal attacks is drawn pretty clearly in that court.

Of course, obsessively tweeting someone you don’t know could actually be the key to a new relationship, if you’re less creepy about it.

Danielle Ceaser, 22, is a big fan of Jake T. Austin, a 21-year-old actor known for his work on “The Fosters” and “Wizards of Waverly Place.” Dating back as far as 2009, when the actor was just 14 and Ceaser 15, she tweeted “I wanna meet @JakeTAustin so badly,” and asking “…is it bad that I wanna kiss youu right now?.” She continued to tweet that the two were destined to meet. She announced that she put photos of Austin up on her wall, and told the world that the two would get married, and that “he just doesn’t know it yet :).”

Just like most love stories, the obsessive tweeting was met with a “follow” from Austin’s account in 2011, a sort of holy grail for superfans. Then, the two actually met at a meet-and-greet opportunity in 2012. Ceaser continued to post all about Austin for the next three years, and suddenly Austin posted a picture of the two kissing on his Instagram. It became official–the fangirl who had set her sights on Austin for over seven years is now finally dating him. In this example, relentless tweeting resulted in a happy ending. It would be a Cinderella story, if Cinderella had run a Prince Charming-themed fanblog since she was in middle school before attending the ball. So, Twitter has evolved into a lot of new things–it can be a tool for creepy stalking, or a venue for love. It all just depends on how the tweets are received.

Sean Simon

Sean Simon is an Editorial News Senior Fellow at Law Street, and a senior at The George Washington University, studying Communications and Psychology. In his spare time, he loves exploring D.C. restaurants, solving crossword puzzles, and watching sad foreign films. Contact Sean at SSimon@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Earlier this week, “Empire” star Terrance Howard confessed that he hit his first ex-wife, describing that he “lost his mind” and “slapped her in front of the kids.” This confession isn’t exactly coming out of left field. Over the last couple of years in his various marriages, Howard has been accused of slapping, punching, and strangling his partners, living up the dark nature of his character on “Empire,” Lucious Lyon. Howard attempted to justify his deplorable, violent behavior with his first wife Lori McCommas by saying that she was talking to him “real strong.” With his second wife, Michelle Ghent, Howard claims that she tried to “mace him” and that he didn’t mean to hurt her, he was just trying to get her away. Howard’s relationship with his most recent wife, Mira Pak, appeared to be healthy and strong, until she mysteriously filed for divorce earlier this year.

Although Howard’s relationships have all been multi-cultural, this situation still brings up important issues of black love and the relationship between black men and women. The media’s coverage of black celebrity figures’ violence against women opens up different conversations about dynamics within relationships, but black relationships are the least discussed.

But they shouldn’t be. Black women have notoriously been at the forefront of movements standing up for issues that plague black men. Black women have historically fiercely defended the rights and desires of black men. During the civil rights movement it was women–wives, daughters, sisters, cousins, mothers, and grandmothers–who stood up for not only their own issues but those of their brothers, friends, fathers, and husbands. During the 1992 Rodney King riots, we saw black women weeping for black men, and accepting the harsh reality that the police were their enemy. Even now with the Black Lives Matter movement, we see black women leading the charge to remedy this social issue that directly attacks black men. Black women have taken on the social issues that have plagued black men for the last couple of decades.

However, this support is not reciprocated. Hardly ever do you see black men standing up for issues regarding and experienced by black women. Black men often do not speak up for issues of beauty, professional advancement, abuse, assault, and general vulnerabilities that are unique to the black female community.

Thankfully, we are starting to see a shift in a lack of misrepresentation of black women in the media. Viola Davis, star of the thrilling ABC television series “How to Get Away with Murder,” just won an Emmy for her incredible portrayal of her character, Annalise Keating, giving a spectacular speech on the difficulties and lack of opportunities black women face. Taraji P. Henson, Kerry Washington, and Megan Good are also changing the game, proving that black women are leading women too. This positive representation directly affects black relationships and love. The more it is widely understood that black women are real, strong people who are overcoming yet still dealing with issues that are a part of their identity, the quality of these relationships and communication within them will be transformed. The media plays such a pivotal role in this transformation, and it is so exciting seeing the growth of positive representation of black women in television and film, regardless of the actions of some of Hollywood’s leading men like Terrence Howard.

Hopefully this growth will motivate black men to act proactively in supporting the advance of black women in society. It is going to take more than black women speaking up to start to change the nature of not only black relationships, but society in general. Silence and inaction is the equivalent of destruction. Support can only lead to success for all.

Kui Mwai

Kui Mwai is a junior at American University, studying Law and Literature. She is from Nairobi, Kenya. Contact Kui at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Terrence Howard Reveals Domestic Violence: Do Black Men Support Black Women? appeared first on Law Street.

Love. This chemical cocktail of adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin has the power every year to make people all over the world get all kinds of gushy in celebration of Valentine’s Day. But love isn’t all flowers and candy. This complex emotion can turn once sane individuals into lovestruck lunatics, and even criminals.

Check out the slideshow below to see just how love can turn illegal with these bizarre crimes that will have you saying “WTF”!

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Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Love Gone Wrong: Top WTF Crimes Involving Couples appeared first on Law Street.

People tend to do some pretty clinically insane things to get back at their exes. Disgruntled men dumped by the girls of their dreams have posted naked pictures of them online, dated their best friends, and other concerning but far-from-deadly actions. However, the men starring in recent headlines have taken revenge to a whole new and disturbing level.

Recently, a dude was so peeved when his girlfriend left him that he concluded that feeding her dog to her was the best means of revenge. What ever happened to the saying “living well is the best revenge”? Not anymore, apparently.

That has to be one of the most messed up ways to get back at someone in recent history. It wasn’t just her beloved pet, but one of the most adorable dog breeds around — a Pomeranian — with one of the most adorable names possible, Bear. He fed her precious pooch to her during a “reconciliation meeting.” He then bombarded her with disturbing text messages asking her how her pet tasted and saying he thought BBQ sauce would have been a welcome addition benefiting the flavor. As if that weren’t a massive enough blow to the poor girl, he left the poor pup’s paws in a box at her doorsteps a few days later.

Apparently, you don’t need to be suspicious just of exes, but of your current significant other as well. In England, a teenage guy killed his girlfriend in an attempt to emulate Dexter, the character from the hit TV series. The young man says he was overcome by an alter-ego who made him stab and dismember his girlfriend. I guess the people concerned about the effect of such violent television series wasn’t all wrong, though the teenage boy suffered from various mental problems including schizophrenia.

Another cringe-worthy incident is the recent case in which 18-year-old Aston Robinson murdered his pregnant girlfriend and wrote a letter to her mother with the acronym “LOL.” After the couple sneaked into Robinson’s house, he strangled her and abandoned her corpse. While awaiting trial, Robinson wrote multiple letters to the mother of his deceased girlfriend to really twist the metaphorical knife in her gut.

The bone-chilling element of these stories is amplified by the pathetic sentences the criminals received. In the case of the teenager killing his pregnant girlfriend, his prison time could be as low as 14 years. The juvenile who killed his girlfriend Dexter-style is only looking at about 25 years. The dog-murder’s punishment is not yet known.

Seriously? It is cases like these where judges need to get their hands dirty and lay down the law. These terrifying tales certainly reveal how messed up people can be when they are dumped. So, who CAN you trust these days? Who knows…

Marisa Mostek

Marisa Mostek loves globetrotting and writing, so she is living the dream by writing while living abroad in Japan and working as an English teacher. Marisa received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a certificate in journalism from UCLA. Contact Marisa at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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