Court upholds Minnesota's anti-stalking law

An Olmsted County woman who challenged a stalking conviction and the constitutionality of the law itself has lost on both fronts.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected Patricia Stockwell's arguments that she was within her First Amendment rights when confronting a woman of Somali descent wearing a headscarf.

What happened next is in dispute, but both agree that Stockwell made comments about radical Islam after following the woman into a Rochester parking lot. A jury's felony stalking conviction resulted in a year sentence, which was stayed.

The appeal contended the state stalking law infringed on expressive acts. The three-judge panel said her aggressive conduct on the whole supported the conviction.

There's no word yet from Stockwell's attorney on a possible appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

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