14 DAY TRIAL // Social media has gotten people in trouble more than once, sometimes even in serious trouble with the law. Every time it had something to do with the way they used social media, like revealing incriminatory information. Now a new barrier has been broken, someone got arrested for not using social media. James Roppo, a senior exec at Island Def Jam Records was arrested by the New York police though the reason for his arrest isn't exactly clear at this point.
YouTube sensation turned R&B singer Justin Bieber was supposed to make an appearance at the Roosevelt Field mall in Long Island, New York promoting his new album. Unfortunately, it looks like the people organizing the event and the authorities handling it were unprepared for the huge number of teenagers that showed up and waited in line for hours for a chance to meet their idol.
Things got out of hand and the police asked the label exec to tweet to the fans that the show is canceled and to go home. This is where things get murky. Some reports claim that he was detained for failing to tweet these messages when asked by the police. "We asked for his help in getting the crowd to go away by sending out a Twitter message," Nassau County Police Det. Lt. Kevin Smith told Newsday. "By not cooperating with us we feel he put lives in danger and the public at risk."
This may seem like a little excessive, but you can understand how the police may have been frustrated by the lack of cooperation when handling the unruly crowd. But Bieber's Twitter stream shows that he made several tweets asking people to go home. “[T]hey are not allowing me to come into the mall. if you dont [sic.] leave I and my fans will be arrested as the police just told us,” one tweet reads.
However, there is more to the story as other reports claim that he was actually arrested for tweeting that Bieber was signing autographs while the police was trying to disperse the crowd. This second version seems more believable though the tweets that are still there on Bieber's account point the other way. Roppo is pleading not guilty.