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Yea, an arrest on your record, even if you're acquitted and/or get a settlement for police wrongdoing, can still mess you up. There are employers and landlords who will ask you / check whether you were ever arrested, regardless of the outcome of the arrest. Mere involvement with Law Enforcement puts a permanent black mark on your record and can interfere with basic things for the rest of your life.
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This is really far from true, unless you're talking about federal security clearances.
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How would being arrested for memeing be a black mark? It would be a hilarious talking point that I would be more than happy to chat with a landlord, employer, or literally anyone else about. Anyone who would hold that against you is pretty much a textbook example of a bad person (banal evil or some such).
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Some won't ask for details and just reject. Which of course sucks but they may view it as less risky than trying to evaluate the details and make a judgement call.

That said if you do go into circumstances - "I did it to get arrested and get a payout" could also be viewed as a red flag - says "may screw you/the company for money". Probably not the employee / tenant / etc you might want.

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You don't even get a chance to explain it. Their background check software sees that you were arrested once, and discards your résumé.
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You’d be more than happy to chat. They often won’t give you that chance.
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I could see firms doing background checks not caring about those nuances or taking the time to consider why the individual was arrested.
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I wouldn’t rent my house to someone who has been arrested for memeing. It’s an unnecessary risk with absolutely no upside for me. What happens when they decide to meme on their landlord?
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>What happens when they decide to meme on their landlord

nothing? maybe a laugh? it’s a meme not a murder

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Then you're part of the problem.

Convicted, sure. Merely arrested, with no conviction? Then you'd be an asshole

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Then make part of the settlement having the arrest expunged.
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You must not have ever been poor because the idea of several thousand dollars right now completely obliterates any notion of "maybe less money later, possibly"

Particularly if you're young and poor.

Humans don't really work the way you're implying from your armchair.

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I was poor (as in, well below FPL), the son of two immigrants, for many years.

That’s precisely how I thought - getting involved with a “get money now” scheme was not worth the “no money ever again” it often came with. I watched friends do things like this and face consequences later.

Not to discourage anyone from protesting, but not all poor people think alike.

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There's poor and stupid, and then there's poor and smart
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> Yea, an arrest on your record

What an awful data environment

The fact that you were arrested, charged even, if not convicted should not be discoverable by third parties

Uncivilised

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As someone who lives this reality (arrest but no conviction), it's in practice not really so bad. It's never come up with a landlord. The last time it came up was after being accepted to grad school and I had to fill out a form about it. You do just carry with you the knowledge that if you ever get pulled over the cop can pull it up about you and have reason to hassle you more.
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"I'm going to hassle you because my brethren have hassled you before."

Yup, sounds about right.

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And the ones who get the "payday" are just the ones we've heard of.

How many people didn't get media attention, don't have the ability (time/money) to sue, lost that case, and those where the intimidation and "punishment" was successful?

At some level the people doing this intimidation believe it'll be successful. Is that from experience?

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Yes; it works. That’s why they do it.
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>so, for some subset of people, they might be having to opposite of the desired chilling effect.

Those ones are the easiest though, are they not? Someone going into it with convictions (or even chickening out because they are aware of the consequences) have consolation and inner reserves. Some kid angry that he can't get a six figure salary at age 22 fresh out of college might regret it as soon as they're in the clink, but if that doesn't get them... the 6-10 years of lawyer-wrangling and stress certainly will. All for the payday to not even go half as far as they think... it'll pay down some bills, there won't be any sports cars.

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Students are young and often have nothing to lose, aside from missing opportunities.
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Opportunity cost is a real cost.
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