You know this whole thing is a bit disturbing in that they had not actually committed any of these acts or had any real plans to do so. They just went into in-depth discussion of how they COULD do it.
Yes it is a disturbing topic to enjoy discussing but are we really OK with “thought crimes” now?
You could discuss a macabre book plot this way, and get arrested for it?
This could set a PRECEDENT for other things we don’t like... Like expressing impure thoughts about the government
...prosecutors convinced a federal jury that his actions, including conducting surveillance of potential victims, had crossed the line from fantasy to reality.