Man creates a fake Twitter account and the police raid the house and seize all computers and phones!!

It wasn't a screen name. It was a real name ... Someone's real identity and a real position as a government officer....someone's real reputation on the line... Really you need to get your facts straight before posting a thread... You don't read the articles you yourself post... And when people point out where you are mistaken you ignore it and just try a different a different angle ... The facts of the matter are that no one should ever be victimized like this and people who do things like this should be held accountable ... We cannot have people misrepresenting themselves as government officers and people should not live in fear of being impersonated and having to deal with the fallout ...as far as your childish vulgar "welcome to the Internet" statement that's just ridiculous... It is even more important that there are clearly defined laws so that people can easily tell what's real and what's bogus...the Internet is playing a bigger role in all areas of life and no one should be allowed to assume the identity of another on it and wreak havoc...

The account was not labeled as parody when opened... It was labeled parody later ... Probably as an attempt to avoid prosecution once they started worrying about what they were doing... You should read the articles you post..

Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard said officers were investigating the creator of the Twitter account for false personation of a public official. The offense is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and up to a year in jail.
The @Peoriamayor account began in late February or early March with a photo of Ardis and a bio that stated he enjoyed serving the city and included his city email address.
The content of tweets, or entries on the account, ranged from ambiguous to offensive, with repeat references to sex and drugs — and comparisons of Ardis to Toronto Mayor Rob Ford as Ford’s drug use while in office became public.
By about March 10, the bio of the Twitter account was changed to indicate it was a parody account.
Settingsgaard, however, said the intent of the account was not clearly satirical.