I think "terrorism" in general is a pretty shitty term that no criminal code should have. It's a political term to paint opponents in a certain light. — Benkei
The crime is ‘armed insurrection’ and ought to be dealt with accordingly. — Wayfarer
On the high end, charges of civil disorder, interfering with law enforcement, or inciting a riot could all be possible, up to seditious conspiracy — a federal charge punishable by up to 20 years in prison, he said.
That latter charge seemed most appealing to two professors of Western Michigan University’s Cooley Law School.
It reads:
“If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both."
The phrase “delay the execution of the law” is key, and what was seen from some of the Trump supporters Wednesday, said Devin Schindler, a law professor who once clerked for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“For at least some of these protesters, particularly the ones that broke into the Capitol, I think there's an extraordinarily strong case that they used force to delay, to hinder, the execution of our laws governing the election and how electoral votes are counted,” he said. “It seems fairly clear to me, based on what we're seeing, that folks are in fact, almost textbook violating this seditious conspiracy statute by using force to interfere with lawful government activity."
↪Brett I don't actually know the specifics, but from all the news I've been seeing there seems to be a clear consensus that some crime was committed today, by the people storming the capitol. I would guess that at the very least bringing weapons into a government building like that is probably illegal, and even if not that, that there are restrictions on entry into at least some parts of that building if not the building as a whole, since I sincerely doubt it's lawful for just anyone to rummage through e.g. Pelosi's office
The only difference is how these people are being portrayed in the gutter press: one group as terrorists, a violent mob, and the rest as concerned protesters and activists. I do not remember congress or the senate saying it was an attack on democracy when protesters occupied, disrupted and sometimes accosted its members. — NOS4A2
No, this was certainly not a terrorist. And quite frankly if people honestly believe the election was stolen, this reaction would be totally understandable. — Benkei
There is a difference between fighting, looting and rioting because of perceived social injustice (looting and rioting being criminal of course, do not get me wrong) and storming a government building with the aim of seizing power for your own preferred strong man. — Tobias
It was certainly a person using violence for political gain, aka a terrorist or if you prefer, an old style fascist. And of course it’s logical from their screwed-up POV. Mussolini was logical too, and his reactions perfectly understandable from a fascist perspective. — Olivier5
Huh? They intended to stop the proceedings which would have proclaimed Biden the president elect... or was it just coincidental and does it happen every odd Monday morning?
Huh? They intended to stop the proceedings which would have proclaimed Biden the president elect... or was it just coincidental and does it happen every odd Monday morning? — Tobias
That doesn’t seem much worse than people literally calling for the removal of the president while occupying the senate building. — NOS4A2
You are familiar with the term "gaslighting" right? Well, I suspect some gaslighting here.. — schopenhauer1
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