Thursday, September 27, 2018

[shpsqrwe] Donating after terrorism

It's probably illegal to offer to pay someone before the fact for them to commit a political crime.  However, if you have no prior relationship with a perpetrator until after they've become famous for committing the political crime, donation afterwards seems very doable and legal, perhaps donating to the family of the perpetrator, because the perpetrator is likely on the run, imprisoned, or has been killed by the government, so unable to perform whatever prior role he or she had in the family.

For example, consider donating to James Hodgkinson's family.  The cover message, seemingly unassailable, is, "My condolences regarding the death of your husband/father/grandfather."  But the unspoken message is, "I support his politics and methods."  Interestingly, even if the recipients reject the donation, the unspoken message remains just as strong.  If you make a big public show in your act of donation, is that still protected speech?  The prosecution would argue something along the lines that your speech will induce future crimes through the implied promise of compensation afterwards.

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