Home » News » Restraining order after ‘school shooter’ tweets upheld over First Amendment objections 

By David L. Hudson Jr. , published on October 22, 2024

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A California trial court was correct in issuing a workplace-violence restraining order against a woman who had tweeted about being “the next school shooter,” a state appeals court has ruled. The restraining order prevents the woman from going near her former high school. 

The woman – identified in court papers only as “J.H.” – graduated from a high school in the San Ramon Unified School District in 2016. 

In May 2023, R.H.’s twin sister contacted the high school’s resource officer and informed him of her sister’s alarming tweets. The officer investigated and found numerous disturbing tweets from R.H. made between 2021 and 2023.

Of most concern were the following three recent tweets: “I’m the next school shooter. Get ready. I’m going on Criminal Minds: Evolution” (a TV crime series); (2) “I’ll kill you all”; and (3) “I’m a terrorist. The government has officially classified me as a terrorist.” 

In early June 2023, school officials petitioned for a restraining order against J.H. The trial court held a hearing on the matter and issued a three-year workplace-violence restraining order. California law allows places of business to obtain these restraining orders if they have received a “credible threat of violence.” 

J.H. appealed, contending that the restraining order was issued in error and infringed on her First Amendment rights. J.H. pointed out that none of her tweets named her former high school or any employees of the high school. She also argued that her tweets did not rise to the level of true threats and, thus, were protected by the First Amendment. 

The California Court of Appeals affirmed the issuance of the restraining order in its Sept. 20, 2024, decision in San Ramon Unified Valley School District v. J.H.

“Based on our review, we find that a reasonable employee of the School District would understand J.H.’s statements, in light of the context and surrounding circumstances, to be a true threat,” the appeals court wrote.

The appeals court noted that J.H.’s twin sister originally told the police that J.H. had scoped out the high school to determine how feasible it would be to shoot up the school.

“Under these circumstances, a reasonable person would understand J.H.’s tweets to constitute a serious expression of her intent to commit unlawful violence,” the appeals court explained. “Those tweets therefore constituted true threats that are not protected by the First Amendment.” 

David L. Hudson Jr. teaches First Amendment law and constitutional law classes at Belmont University College of Law. He is the author, co-author, or co-editor of more than 50 books, including The Constitution Explained: A Guide for Every American (Visible Ink Press, 2022) and The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech (Thomson Reuters, 2012).  

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