Man's Facebook posts about former deputy deemed as possible threat; case will proceed

PORT ORCHARD — A Kitsap County Superior Court judge declined last week to dismiss harassment charges against a man who made ominous comments about a former sheriff’s office deputy on the Kitsap Sun's Facebook page.

Judge Kevin Hull ruled that because Michael Charles Martin, 27, of Kent, posted a comment asking for former Deputy Matt Hill’s address, the comments could be perceived as a “true threat.”

Martin had commented on a story about a civil jury verdict that declined to find Hill had used excessive force during a scuffle with the wrong man following a high-speed chase. Martin’s attorney had argued the comments were protected by the First Amendment.

The ruling means the case can proceed to trial, scheduled for July, though Martin’s lawyer told Hull he may request a change of venue.

In addition to the felony count of harassment, filed in December, prosecutors also charged Martin with misdemeanor harassment.

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Comments on story about lawsuit against KCSO

Hill and the county were sued in U.S. District Court by Frank Fuller, who Hill had subdued and injured in 2014. Hill claimed that he believed the man was a suspect in a car chase, which he was not.

A federal jury found in December that Hill had not used excessive force. Fuller sustained a fractured tooth and a dislocated jaw.

The comments attributed to Martin were critical of Hill. His first alleged comment on the Facebook post for the story asked for Hill’s address. When another commenter asked why he wanted the address, Martin allegedly responded that he wanted to know so he could stay away from Hill and added a “winking face” emoji.

Martin then wrote: “Or maybe I can get a shiny badge, break into his house and get away with assaulting and kidnapping him?”

Martin continued, saying: “This cop should be put down” and also that “He’s a terrorist and should be executed.”

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He also posted a photo of a flag-draped coffin believed to be taken at a funeral for a slain Washington State Patrol trooper with text that implied the only good officer is a dead officer.

No information is contained in court documents that accuses Martin of obtaining HIll's address or planning to harm Hill.

The morning after Martin made the comments, two sheriff’s office detectives were waiting for him at the Seattle pinball arcade where he works. He was arrested and booked into the Kitsap County Jail. After posting bail, he was ordered not to enter Kitsap County unless it was for a court hearing.

The Facebook page attributed to Martin contained other images and statements critical of government.

Judge: comments could be seen as 'true threat'

Martin’s lawyer, public defender Steven Lewis, requested the charges be dismissed arguing they did not contain evidence “on its face” that a crime had been committed, claiming that the comments were protected political speech.

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“Comments on the news of the day are at the core of the First Amendment right to speak one’s mind regarding current events and thus Mr. Martin’s speech, however offensive it may be, constituted protected speech and was not criminal,” Lewis wrote.

Deputy Prosecutor John Purves argued that taken together, the comments added up to a threat because the comments followed a request for Hill’s address.

“Rather than dealing with offensive political speech, we are now dealing with knowing threats that a reasonable person could foresee as a serious expression of a threat to kill,” Purves wrote. “It is the personalization and query into the address of (Hill) that takes the speech out of protected and into conduct that is criminal.”

Hill retired from the Sheriff’s Office in 2016 due to medical reasons.