Facts:  Colson Baker, an up-and-coming rapper who calls himself Machine Gun Kelly, was arrested in August at a mall for disorderly conduct.  Mr. Baker had recently signed a record deal with Bad Boy Records, a well-known hip-hop label founded by Sean “P. Diddy” Combs.  To celebrate the signing, Mr. Baker organized a flash mob with his Twitter followers.  For those who don’t know, a flash mob is a group of people who suddenly appear in a public place for some specific purpose (usually nonpolitical). The gathering usually lasts for a very brief time, and then the people leave once the purpose is complete. Mr. Baker apparently polled his many followers and chose the SouthPark Mall in Strongsville, a suburb of Cleveland.  Mr. Baker and two other men were standing on tables in the mall food court yelling and celebrating in front of the very large group when the mall security asked them to stop.  When they refused, further inciting the flash mob, 

Mr. Baker and his associates were arrested.  The men were charged with disorderly conduct and released a few hours later.

Law:  In Ohio, and many other states, disorderly conduct includes any number of activities.  In Ohio, one can be guiltyof disorderly conduct by recklessly causing inconvenience, annoyance or alarm by:

• Fighting, threatening, or engaging in violent or turbulent behavior,

• Making unreasonable noise or communicating abusive language,

• Insulting or taunting another where it is likely to cause a violent response,

• Preventing or hindering movement of others, or

• Creating a physically offensive condition that presents the risk of physical harm

As you can see, the police have a lot of discretion under this statute.  It is typically used to control crowds that are out of control, as it allows the police to make an arrest to restore order.  Typically, it is charged as a low-level misdemeanor, and in Ohio, disorderly conduct carries a $150 fine.

Analysis:  Now, a $150 fine might not be enough to stop some people from being rowdy in public, but keep in mind that picking up various misdemeanors on your record can ultimately harm your chances of getting a job in the future. So be careful.

An even more important discussion here involves the smart use of social media and remaining well behaved in public.  In many cities, flash mobs are very popular and can draw very large numbers of people. Many are harmless, but some can get out of hand. Concerns over possible violence caused by flash mobs had led Cleveland’s city council to suggest laws that would have criminalized organizing some types of flash mobs. That particular law, however, was vetoed by Cleveland’s 

mayor earlier in the month, before Mr. Baker’s arrest. 

Because the law did not pass which would have made it a misdemeanor to simply put one of these flash mobs together, Mr. Baker was well within his rights to organize his fans to celebrate a great moment in his life. Mr. Baker used Twitter specifically to generate a flash mob, as a thank you to his loyal fans.  That’s ok.  In fact, that’s one reason why Twitter exists.  However, he did not remember to use the social network responsibly.  His actions went too far in this case, and things could have become dangerous.  

Although Mr. Baker was only charged with a low-level misdemeanor for disorderly conduct, generating a flash mob at a mall was irresponsible.  Various unsuspecting shoppers could have been caught in the mob.  Mobs sometimes become dangerous and begin looting local stores. The better decision would have been to organize in an open public place to celebrate his new record deal.  Instead, Mr. Baker chose an enclosed mall that could have been dangerous to the young or elderly.  

Further, Mr. Baker made the poor decision to deny authority once the mob started.  Being arrested and defying authority are sometimes viewed as trademarks of hip-hop culture, but this does not make it acceptable or a particularly good idea.  When he was asked to stop, his refusal got him arrested. 

This is a good opportunity for Mr. Baker to learn from his mistakes, as all of you should do in the event that you find yourself in some legal trouble.   He made some poor decisions along the way, but fortunately, most of it ended up being harmless fun.  While this time it only resulted in a small fine, the next time may spiral further out of control.  It’s not always the actions that define the man, it is how one learns from those actions that better define him.  As long as 

Mr. Baker learns from this situation and better controls himself next time, he will be better off because of it.