Anthony Ellis received the lengthy jail term after posting a series of threatening comments, including a reference to killing children, which prosecutors say constitutes an offence even if there was no intent to action the messages.
His defence team argue that the posts were a ‘therapeutic’ way to let off steam and allowed Ellis to come to terms with his bitter break-up and that the rap-style comments were little different to the lyrics used in hit songs by Eminem and The Beatles.
Ellis’ troubles began in 2010 when his wife walked out after seven years of marriage with their two children, sparking the online tirade, but free speech advocates that the current definition of threat is too broad.