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Maryland Man Could Face 16 Years in Jail for Videotaping Traffic Stop

HeadlineJul 20, 2010

A twenty-five-year-old staff sergeant for the Maryland Air National Guard is facing up to sixteen years in prison for uploading a video on YouTube that showed an undercover police officer pulling a gun on him during a traffic stop. Anthony Graber was initially ticketed for speeding, but once he posted the video, the state charged him with four felonies, including violating Maryland’s wiretap law. State police officers also raided Graber’s parents’ home and confiscated his camera, computers and external hard drives. Graber is one of many Americans facing possible jail time for videotaping police activity. Last week Democratic Congressman Edolphus Towns of New York introduced a non-binding resolution calling for the protection of citizens who videotape cops in public from getting arrested on state wiretapping charges.

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