[img_assist|nid=167640|title=Konopacki|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=129|height=132]Madison's The Progressive magazine has a piece on how the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin is backing editorial cartoonist Mike Konopacki, who is facing a felony-level complaint from Republicans for a parody news release he issued. Konopacki issued a fake new release from State Rep. Steve Nass (R-La Grange) after the legislator pushed the University of Wisconsin School for Workers into canceling an art exhibit about the historic worker protests last year.
According to the magazine:
“Parody is protected” by the First Amendment, says Christopher Ahmuty, the executive director of the Wisconsin ACLU. “I don’t know when falsely assuming the name of an elected official has ever been prosecuted. But it’s certainly not appropriate in this instance.”
... Nass’s office reported the parody to the Dane County District Attorney’s office, which is investigating Konopacki for a possible felony violation for “falsely assuming to act as a public officer,” as freelance journalist Kathy Wilkes noted when she broke this story last week.
Ahmuty ... says Nass appears to believe that “intimidation” is the best way to deal with people who criticize him. “It’s really getting out of control,” says Ahmuty.