Todd Kincannon. Government silencing private citizens. In your backyard.

Todd Kincannon is one of the more raucous characters on Twitter. At times he’s knee slappingly funny. Other times, he’s ugly and vile. He has changed the course of public political discussion a few times, for the better. Toward liberty. He’s heralded heroes, and destroyed villains. He’s not for everyone. He’s one of my favorite follows on Twitter.

A few times pouty liberals have ganged up and gotten him suspended from Twitter. Todd actually created a Twitter network that many thousands of folks have taken advantage of which decreases the left’s ability to silence conservatives on Twitter. Todd’s account has always been reinstated, sometimes more quickly than others.

Todd’s account is currently not suspended, but he ceased tweeting on June 22. I noticed right away. Now we know why. Below is an email from Todd. You may want to take some action. It is clear to me this is a case of “they came for the Jews…” and I suspect each one of you will grasp the chilling implications of what Todd is facing.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

If you are receiving this email, it means you ordered a copy of my book. Yet no one has received any copies yet, and I owe you an explanation why.

I am presently legally barred from fulfilling the order. The South Carolina lawyer disciplinary authorities—government officials—have determined that my political and religious commentary is “unethical.” I am legally barred from sending you a copy of my book at this time. (Well, I could send you a copy, but I could be disbarred for it.)

This is the culmination of a two year secret investigation of me by the South Carolina Commission on Lawyer Conduct and the South Carolina Office of Disciplinary Counsel, two entities that have taken the position that the First Amendment simply does not apply to lawyers. Unsurprisingly, no Democrat lawyers have been targeted so far as I know, and the people in charge of the South Carolina Office of Disciplinary Counsel have solid Democrat voting histories.

I encourage you to do discuss this matter in public and on Twitter and Facebook, and you are free to contact the people involved to complain. Here are some excellent talking points: (1) This is just like the IRS Tea Party targeting scandal, because I am being targeted for my political commentary but absolutely no Democrat lawyers are being targeted. (2) Anyone with half a brain understands that the genuinely offensive things I say are merely to provoke the Left and are my distinctive brand of political commentary. (3) If my political activism wasn’t effective, no one would be trying to shut me up. (4) Unlike the Mozilla controversy and other examples of private boycotts, the South Carolina lawyer disciplinary authorities are government agents who are punishing private citizens for political and religious advocacy that is not to their liking. (5) This is book burning, plain and simple. (6) If I lose my right to speak freely because I am a state licensed professional, anyone in a state licensed profession is subject to having their free speech rights taken away from them. (7) This case is one of the absolute best arguments against state licensing for professions. Once government gets its dictatorial foot in the door, everyone in the room becomes a slave to whatever group of petty tyrants happens to run that wing of government at any given point in time.

The reason for my silence about this matter until now is that I truly thought they would come to their senses about all of this. In fact, they indicated to me more than once that they would not punish me for political or religious commentary that was not to their liking, after initially demanding that I stop saying anything offensive on Twitter. (That was why I briefly stopped using profanity on Twitter in late 2012, in case you were wondering what that was all about.)

However, in early June, just as I was preparing to send out my book, I received an unexpected notice from the South Carolina Office of Disciplinary Counsel that the investigation was going to continue because of comments I made on Twitter regarding a left wing political activist named Col. Morris Davis, a frequent guest on MSNBC. (I have no indication that Col. Davis has anything to do with this—it appears a supporter of his filed a bar complaint on me, the seventh or eighth complaint filed on me in recent times.)

As a result of all this, I have prepared and filed a lawsuit in federal court. Please read the attached complaint that was filed earlier this evening. I will fight this matter all the way to the United States Supreme Court if I have to. Surrender is not in my DNA. However, I have no choice but to stop tweeting and hold off sending out copies of my book or engaging in any other advocacy until the federal court gives me clearance to do so without fear of professional repercussions.

Given that I am now legally banned from sending you my book, if you want a refund for what you have paid for my book (or anything else), please let me know and you will receive one immediately. A few people have offered to donate legal fees. That is not necessary. All I ask is for you to pray for me and my family and to raise absolute hell about this. I’m going to win this fight no matter what, but the louder you are, the quicker and easier it will be.

I suspect the federal court will clear me to send you a copy of my book within a month or two. I suggest you not cancel your order, because I have an idea that these books are going to be collectors items by the time this litigation is concluded with finality.

I will provide more details as they become available. I plan to coordinate a full-scale political and legal attack on all involved (within the bounds of law and ethics, of course) if this matter isn’t resolved to my satisfaction in the very near future. This is just my opening salvo.

Don’t just expect fireworks, folks. Create them. (Again, within the bounds of law and ethics.)

Todd Kincannon

CLICK HERE for a copy of the court filing.

SC Commission On Lawyer Conduct
http://www.judicial.state.sc.us/disccounsel/commissionLC.cfm
1015 Sumter St Columbia, SC 29201
(803) 734-2038

SC Office of Disciplinary Counsel
http://www.judicial.state.sc.us/discCounsel/
1015 Sumter Street
Suite 309
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
Telephone: (803) 734-2038
Fax: (803) 734-1964

Mailing Address:
Office of Disciplinary Counsel
Post Office Box 12159
Columbia, South Carolina 29211