In one of the most interesting cases the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has decided this term, Justice Thomas Saylor writing for the majority in Commonwealth v. Knox, held that lyrics of a rap song may lead to criminal charges. With criminal charges pending involving heroin and guns, the defendants wrote and recorded a rap song titled “F—k the Police.” This was put on video with still images of the police officers in question.The rappers were looking into the camera and motioning as if firing weapons. The video was uploaded to YouTube by a third party and the YouTube link was placed on a publicly viewable Facebook page titled “Beaz Mooga.” The trial evidence strongly suggested it belonged to one of the composers.

The lyrics of the rap video are full of crude and sexual expressions, rich with well-known Anglo-Saxon profanity. The police officers were explicitly referred to by name in the rap lyrics and suggests, at least implicitly if not explicitly, violence against the police.

The police officers testified how upset they were by the lyrics and one of the officers said it was a major reason why he quit the force. The commonwealth sought convictions for witness intimidation and terroristic threats. The court found the rappers guilty on both counts of witness intimidation and terroristic threats. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the verdict.