When TikToker Shannon (@birdsandbeaksnation) tried to speak out about the lack of investigation into a crime committed against her son, she was prosecuted instead of supported.
On August 16, 2020, her son, Sam Kramer, was lured out to Historic Bridge Park in Battle Creek, Michigan, to meet a girl. While he was there, he was jumped by a group of guys. They beat him unconscious, threw him into a river, and left him for dead.
“What he didn’t know at the time was that it was a pre-planned attack that they were executing,” said Shannon. “They stomped on his head; they knocked him out pretty quickly.”
“He had broken bones in his face. The doctors would later think that he was thrown from a moving vehicle for how bad the injuries to his hands were. He had torn muscles in his back. His knees were blown out.”
Fortunately, he managed to survive. A different group of kids found him in the river and saved his life. Within a few days, Shannon knew that the police were not going to take this case seriously.
Even today, five years later, there are people who were involved in the abuse who have still never been interviewed. Some witnesses who came forward have also not been interviewed.
Shannon wrote a letter to the prosecutor, basically stating that if he didn’t do his job, she would use the power of social media to hold him accountable.
“It turns out that the prosecutor used a law that was meant to prevent cyberbullying, and instead, twisted it around to prosecute me for my freedom of speech for telling the story, for documenting everything and demanding that they create justice, that they hold those accountable,” said Shannon.
So, in 2o23, she was convicted of unlawful posting of a message to silence her. She was placed on probation for three years and is now a felon. They removed her access to speak out or publish anything on the internet.
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Recently, the Supreme Court has stepped in and agreed to take their case because her First Amendment right, the freedom of speech, was not taken into consideration in her trial.
The court is scheduling oral arguments and has invited every attorney in the state of Michigan to weigh in on the issue. After so long, her son is finally receiving justice for what happened to him.
In the end, Shannon will be over $100,000 in debt for legal bills. She only pays $100 a month to her defense attorney and her appeals attorney because that’s all she can afford.
“They have been very gracious and kind to work with me on that,” she said. “I can’t afford anything else. I run a nonprofit bird rescue, for crying out loud.”
“I want to tell you that the fight is worth it. And it seems insurmountable, but the Supreme Court of Michigan agreed to take my case.”
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
