Restauranteur John Horvatinovich refused to serve beer to two undercover teenagers, then let his followers know about the failed sting by sharing a picture of the underage police informants. Next thing he knew, he faced a year in jail for his tweet.
After posting “Omaha Restaurant Peeps: these two are trying to ruin your night w/ sting operations in town @MeanStreetsOMA,” he was charged with misdemeanor obstructing government operations.
Via the Omaha World Herald:
The question before the jury was whether Horvatinovich knew the teens were a part of the compliance checks and intentionally chose to hinder the government operation.
Assistant City Prosecutor Makayla Maclin said Horvatinovich’s tweet impeded the compliance checks. After the tweet was sent, a sergeant told the teens to return to the office for their safety. The two 17-year-olds and two troopers didn’t complete checks on the seven remaining businesses on their list.
KMTV has the verdict for the Salt 88 owner:
• Salt 88 owner questions why charges were filed after he tweeted photos of minors who tried to buy alcohol (Omaha World Herald via Reason))