"New Hampshire man arrested for posting online comments criticizing a police officer"

This is an article from The Hill about police in Exeter, N.H., arresting someone for criticizing the local police. It is a misdemeanor criminal defamation charge, which I think would be hard to enforce. While criminal defamation statutes remain on the books in many states they are rarely used. Defamation is typically a civil matter under libel statutes. Mark Joseph Stern of Slate says that the actions of the police are "almost certainly" not legal. He added, "The law under which [the man arrested] was charged may be unconstitutional on its face." The New Hampshire ACLU has called for the charges to be dismissed.