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To: dpwiener
That's ridiculous. If you go to an Elks Club meeting, and someone stands up and proposes that the club members go out and kill their US Senator, and you and the other club members say that it's a stupid idea and it shouldn't be done, how does that make you part of a criminal conspiracy?

Simple. It is against federal law NOT to report a threat against a Federal official. This is not rocket science.

32 posted on 04/01/2004 12:42:14 AM PST by Texasforever (I can’t kill enough brain cells to become a democrat just by drinking.)
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To: Texasforever
It is against federal law NOT to report a threat against a Federal official.

I strongly doubt that there is any legal obligation to report a threat if the attack is not expected to take place. If someone says "I'm so angry at my Congressman that I'd like to kill him" do you have to report that "threat"? Perhaps you do if you think the person will actually carry out the threat, but not if you believe he won't. In the latter case both his and your First Amendment rights would be violated by such a legal requirement.

If you can point me to this mythical federal law which really requires all "threats" to be reported, I'll concede I'm wrong. I don't believe that such a law exists. Any federal law you can find regarding threats to federal officials is certain to be limited and circumscribed. Because if it did exist in the form you describe, it would long ago have been ruled unconstitutional.

34 posted on 04/01/2004 1:19:25 AM PST by dpwiener
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