Mayor in Twitter parody flap says his “freedom of speech” at stake

Peoria (IL) Mayor Jim Ardis, whose complaints led to a police raid to unveil who was behind a Twitter account impersonating him, now says his "freedom of speech" was at issue.

Mayor Ardis, unhappy over the parody @peoriamayor Twitter handle that was falsely portraying him as a drug abuser who lost his "crackpipe," complained to police, who then stormed a local residence to find the tweeting culprit.

"I still maintain my right to protect my identity is my right," said Mayor ahead of a City Council meeting. "Are there no boundaries on what you can say, when you can say it, who you can say it to?" Mayor Ardis asked. "You can't say [those tweets] on behalf of me. That's my problem. This guy took away my freedom of speech."

The raid netted one arrest on unrelated drug charges. The operator of the account, found via warrants to Twitter and Comcast, has not been charged under an Illinois law that carries a maximum one-year jail term and $2,500 fine for impersonating a public official.