In prosecution on charge of impersonating officer or employee of U.S. under 18 USC section 912 based on incident in which defendant falsely asserted in movie theater that he was U.S. Marshall and flashed gun on his belt, Ct. of Appeals rejected defendant’s claim that said statute violated 1st Amendment as unconstitutional restriction on free speech. Section 912 is permissible restriction on free speech, where it protects Government processes and is narrowly drawn to achieve governmental interests. Moreover, section 912 is not vague with respect to defendant’s actions, where defendant’s lies while at theater fit within prohibition of section 912 to falsely assume or pretend to be officer acting within authority of U.S. Moreover, although Dist. Ct. erred in failing to give mens rea instruction, any error was harmless, where no reasonable jury could find that defendant’s false statements about his employment as U.S. Marshall were not knowing and intentional. Also, Dist. Ct. did not err in admitting social images of defendant in law enforcement regalia, since said evidence was relevant after defendant denied intending at any time to deceive others into believing that he was member of federal law enforcement.
