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Musings for Friday -Making a Terroristic Threat is Against the Law. Why Isn't Making a Stochastic... [1]
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Date: 2023-08-18
Disclaimer: IANAL. I’m a layman asking, what I think are reasonable questions.
I’ve told this story before, but let me repeat it to set up my question. About 20 years ago or so I was picked for a jury pool to hear a case where an individual was accused of making a terroristic threat. This was after 9/11 so the judge (or maybe it was the DA) took the time to explain that making a terroristic threat wasn’t what we witnessed on 9/11, but something as simple as saying; I’m going to kill you. However, even though it is a phrase we all may use commonly, there is an exception.
The exception being; Given the right circumstances, would a reasonable person feel threatened by someone telling them that they were actually going to harm them when they said they were going to kill them?
We never even finished jury selection. After explaining to the jury what making a terroristic threat was, the judge ordered a break. When we came back the judge dismissed us by telling us a plea was reached and our services were no longer required. But as you can see, the idea that using a common every day phrase, a phrase we all have probably used hundreds of times in our lives could be deemed criminal, given the right circumstances.
Which brings us to one Donald John Trump. Recent history has taught us that DJT’s stochastic terroristic threats result in actual harm to others. I realize the the terms stochastic terrorism and stochastic terroristic threat are not yet legally recognized terms and therefore not codified crimes, but why not? It’s time. Make it a federal crime. Because;
Given the right circumstances, would a reasonable person feel threatened by the written or spoken threats by an individual or group? Specifically when history has shown that this person or group’s word/s have resulted in terroristic acts before.
We’ve seen this act before.
Sure, some of his latest calls haven’t drawn the crowds like J6 did, but we have witnessed some individuals attempting to carry out DJT’s wishes.
My question is this; Who or how many have to be killed or injured before take DJT’s threats seriously?
And it isn’t just DJT’s threats. After he makes some of his threats some of his sycophants follow through with their own. Granted, some of them are not in a position to carry out their threats. At least not outside of their locale. But there are others willing to drive hundreds of miles to carry out acts of violence.
Freedom of speech has never been an absolute right, there have always been some restrictions. (Note to the 2A absolutist. See? Even the 1A comes with restrictions, so it’s reasonable to have some concerning the 2A.) Making a terroristic threat is one. I don’t see a big leap from there to making a stochastic terroristic threat another.
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