So if I put on a nazi blog that said something akin to um I’m going to kill all of you… Given I don’t know who they are beside username and where they are at would I be arrested? How is that different from what the 20 year old did? He was just more specific as far as I can tell.
Making credible threats against someone is assault. Freedom of speech has plenty of exceptions like this.
People seem to forget that death threats are serious shit. It’s illegal to make them, and “psych, joking!” Isn’t going to get you out of trouble.
And yes, a threat to a group of nazis is still communicating threats, and someone doing it could face consequences. It’s all about whether or not you get caught, and if whatever prosecutors have jurisdiction decide to follow up or not.
See, free speech doesn’t mean you can say anything you want without consequences. It’s about preserving a fundamental right to not be persecuted for your beliefs, political or otherwise. There’s history behind the way the U.S. First amendment is written. And it isn’t really about protecting all speech and expression, only wide swathes of them. People, however, persist in thinking otherwise.
Threats of violence and harm weren’t protected, ever. Not in the bill of rights, not in the Magna Carta, nor in any other body of laws I’ve ever heard of that are older.
In other words, it’s okay to say you hate someone and wish they would die, but not that you’re going to make it happen. Which is a gross oversimplification, but that’s the gist. One is an opinion, the other is a threat that has to be taken seriously.
Even saying you wish someone dead is inadvisable. It’s not illegal to say you wish someone dead but it does make you likely to be a suspect if they die under suspicious circumstances
first rule of actually commiting (useful, impactful) violence…don’t tell anyone online or otherwise not down for carrying it out that your going to do it.
you live in a police state where practically everything online is being watched and catalouged 24/7, act like it.
the bar for violence is incredibly low, long as you just…stfu and don’t straight up tell people your going to do X, you can probably get away with it with a little bit of planning and common sense
Free speech: “I think nazis and their modern counterparts should be killed”
Direct threat: “I am going to kill these specific people”
Free speech
Direct threat
… and many shades in between, where you don’t know how you get judged.
Your hypothetical statement is dogshit for comparison.
Ok you make a better comparison both were on a computer, both were semi specific. So all your mate to come up with another one.
‘I’m going to kill you all’ isnt specific.
If you claimed a means, like shooting, or blowing up their meeting place, espespecially if that means is available to you, that adds credibility. P
Immediacy / timing is usually needed as well. ‘One of these days im going to chuck a grenade through the window’ Vs
“If yall protest the civil rights march in Memphis, im going to use you for target practice”
Is probably going to get a knock on your door.
“If yall participate in the civil rights march in Memphis, im going to use you for target practice"
Is probably going be ignored however.
I got a knock on my door two days ago for calling the police and they said they’re to busy for the problem, i said that’s fine if it escalates I’ll shoot them.
10 minutes later I had visitors and a warning
ok you make a better comparison
No. This is your post, you need to be better
Then comment. I bet your the type of person when a friend says they are going to do something new, you will ask WHY? Instead of asking WHY NOT? You need to fill your life with more WHY NOT people.
" YeaH DuDe, y NoT yeLL FiRE in THe MoVIE thEatEr."
Like???
Genuinely, how old are you? Because the lack of sense from you makes me assume your 14 or 15.
You’re* btw …
Nah, this is one of those “I need a way to make this justifiable” that you’re fucked up for even asking us to entertain.
“In order to grant you a warrant, I’ll need proof of reasonable suspicion.”
“They said they were going to to it”
“Works for me!”
They can hold him and search his house, but they’ll need to find something that “proves” that he was being serious. Proves is in quotes because even if the threat was just a joke, and he was collecting guns for other legitimate reasons, that could be considered proof, and real charges could follow.
Where I live you can be charged with “uttering threats” and you can have the addition of “with weapons”, or “with deadly weapons”
I suspect that the mere utterance is enough for it to be a threat, even if a rational person would know it was not serious.
But what if he was just pissed off and letting off steam? Would it really require this much effort from law enforcement?
How do you expect the police to know the difference between “letting off steam” and a serious threat?
But what if he was just pissed off and letting off steam?
Depends quite a lot on the orifice.
If you let it out through the mouth, all the laws apply. No excuse. Especially stupidity is no excuse.
If you let it out of the other end: less harm.
Let’s say you’re the cops and someone tells you about a threat. Would you rather investigate the threat and find that it was nothing, or ignore the threat and have to explain why you didn’t do anything about the mass shooting that you were warned about?
UUhhhhh, both of those happen regularly and inside the same police force. Sometimes with the came cop.
Depends was it from a 20 year old kid who only said that specfic quote once? Then probably not. If he went on with his normal game probably not would visit him and just pretty much write it off. Now if he went on and on and wrote a manifesto online and everything they I would do more the just visit him.
I recommend looking into how much warning ACTUAL mass shooters usually give.
I totally believe your friend didn’t mean anything by it, but assuming the cops would just feel the same way without knowing anything else about him is delusional.
Please do not call him my friend. Do not hang out or have never been that pissed at something to take someone elses life. He was just near us. But thank you for the engagement
You live in a zero-tolerance world where that sort of scenario lead to the deaths of many people. It is a terroristic threat and people will take it seriously.
Removed by mod
This is how surveillance works.
This specific technique is called precrime.
Uttering threats is a crime. Libel and slander are crimes. Surprisingly to some, there are in fact things you can say (or write) that are illegal. Being charged for committing crimes is by definition not precrime. Also, they may be out to get you, but if you don’t know enough about the law to even be sure if you’re breaking it or not, you will make it very easy for them to do so.
