Previously the reporting on this did not have a political angle and so it was removed from Politics and correctly directed to News.

The charges related to terrorism now give this a political angle.

“Luigi Mangione is accused of first-degree murder, in furtherance of terrorism; second-degree murder, one count of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism; criminal possession of a weapon and other crimes.”

The terrorism statutes can be found here:

https://criminaldefense.1800nynylaw.com/ny-penal-law-490-25-crime-of-terrorism.html

“The act must be committed with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.”

  • Tiefling IRL@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    3 months ago

    Storming the capital or shooting dozens of children are not terrorism, but shooting a CEO who murders thousands is. Got it.

    They’re clearly trying to send a message to scare his supporters

    • Boddhisatva
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      3 months ago

      They’re clearly trying to send a message to scare his supporters

      Yes, they are. By charging him as a terrorist, they are saying that anyone who supports him is supporting terrorism. I’m sure that someone somewhere is making very long lists of names of social media posters and people who donated to his legal defense.

    • WoodScientist
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      3 months ago

      Nah. I have an out. Insurance CEOs simply aren’t human. The charge should be animal cruelty at the worst. Luigi should get the same criminal penalty as someone would get for stepping on a cockroach. Murder requires the thing you’re destroying to actually be a human being.

      • runiq@feddit.org
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        3 months ago

        That reminds me that you should never make the mistake of anthropomorphizing Larry Ellison

    • Jyek@sh.itjust.works
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      3 months ago

      Nullify the jury. A man can break the letter and spirit of the law if the jury decides he should not be punished for it.

  • Cold_Brew_Enema
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    3 months ago

    Whatever. United Healthcare should be next for the countless murders they’ve done.

  • enkers@sh.itjust.works
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    3 months ago

    “The act must be committed with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.”

    These CEOs are quite literally trying to kill us for profit. This is class warfare, and they are the aggressor. They are not civilians, and the terror is not directed at the population or the government.

    • Modern_medicine_isnt
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      3 months ago

      In fairness, I think you could argue the second half. But I would have to read the manifesto to see if he actualy intended that, or if it is just the rest of us who wish he had…

    • jordanlundOPM
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      3 months ago

      I tend to agree with that, the intent isn’t to make the general public afraid, it’s to coerce them into taking action.

  • bbbbbbbbbbb
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    3 months ago

    So the jury has their out now, jury nullification on the grounds of the act not being terrorism

    • adarza@lemmy.ca
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      3 months ago

      nope. not that one.

      there’s two charges, only one with ‘terrorism’ attached.

      • WoodScientist
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        3 months ago

        Are insurance CEOs really human? Is it even possible to commit murder against one? I think it would be more like killing a flesh-eating parasite. I’m thinking the charge should be animal cruelty at the worst. What kind of criminal penalty would I get if I threw an ant farm in a lake? That’s the kind of punishment Luigi should get.

        • zbyte64@awful.systems
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          3 months ago

          Yo, he’s a piece of shit human that didn’t deserve to play Minecraft. Making him less than human could justify targeting his children or the terrorism charges. This the CEO knew what he was doing was bad for people because he was a human.

          • WoodScientist
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            3 months ago

            Nah, his kids didn’t surrender their humanity. You can only do that by your own choices.

      • jordanlundOPM
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        3 months ago

        1st & 2nd degree both have the terrorism angle attached.

    • Jyek@sh.itjust.works
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      3 months ago

      Jury nullification does not require “grounds”. Jury nullification is a result of the jury’s verdict being final regardless of the details of the trial. It’s also an effect of the fact that you cannot be tried twice for the same crime. The jury is not required to form a verdict strictly on the basis of the trial. The may find the defendant not guilty regardless of actual guilt.

    • phx@lemmy.ca
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      3 months ago

      Yeah I’m pretty sure they’ll somehow end up with a jury comprised entirely of CEO’s or their immediate family, “randomly” selected of course

  • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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    3 months ago

    Terror?

    Come the fuck on, Feds New York. Absolutely fucking not. This sparked joy, not terror, in the populace. This was, to be quite frank, the exact opposite of terrorism.

    • jordanlundOPM
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      3 months ago

      It’s not the Feds, it’s the state of New York.

    • BrianTheeBiscuiteer
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      3 months ago

      This is like saying a wife killing their abusive husband is an act of terror. Clearly she’s saying she’s not taking the abuse anymore and any man or woman that treats her so poorly would meet a similar end. The perp that killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO and those cheering him on are saying the same thing – enough abuse. We’re all terrorists because we want CEOs that do real harm to their customers to be held accountable? The current system is completely ill-equipped to even do so much as shame these abusers (i.e. libel and slander laws).

    • JovialMicrobial@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      This is the best argument against the terrorism charges. Should we have a fucking parade to show how NOT terrorized we feel?

  • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    Terrorism to bring this to first-degree is very much a stretch in my eyes. The poor civilian CEO population are spooked by one person getting shot.

      • Makeitstop
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        3 months ago

        They aren’t dropping the second degree murder charge, so they don’t necessarily have to meet the higher bar that this sets.

        That said, while they probably want to be able to paint him as a terrorist, that necessarily involves a more detailed look at what he was trying to accomplish, and that might just backfire on the prosecution. It only takes one sympathetic juror to block a guilty verdict.

        • turtle [he/him]@lemm.ee
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          3 months ago

          That said, while they probably want to be able to paint him as a terrorist, that necessarily involves a more detailed look at what he was trying to accomplish, and that might just backfire on the prosecution. It only takes one sympathetic juror to block a guilty verdict.

          This is a really good insight, thanks!

    • MutilationWave
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      3 months ago

      The second part of the statue, to cause government action, does seem kind of appropriate. But I highly doubt he thought he could pull that off and it’s going to take a lot more 2nd player characters to get there.

  • BowtiesAreCool
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    3 months ago

    So by saying terror, they admit that there is something to be fixed by policy of a government

  • PunnyName
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    3 months ago

    Post bills every-fucking-where about Jury Nullification.

  • Glide@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    “The act must be committed with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.”

    I have no issue with the state correctly identifying this act as terrorism. I take great issue with the fact that this act is being defined as terrorism, while using a definition that clearly defines many things that get a pass as terrorism. Remember last Trump presidency, when his white house published an old-school violent videogames scare video to garner support for his policies while distracting from discussion on gun laws? An act committed with the intent to coerce a civilian population is terrorism.

    And let’s be real, I picked a low-stakes, innoculous example just to make a point: the state does a LOT to terrorize it’s citizens. But when they do it, it’s “law and order.” When Luigi fights back in self defense? “Terrorism”.

    • mojofrododojo
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      3 months ago

      Trump’s gonna pardon the J6 terrorists. That tells you everything.

  • robocall
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    3 months ago

    New Yorkers and Pennsylvania residents need to show up to their jury duty summons and get your ass on a trial… You never know whose trial you’ll end up on. Don’t say nullification during the interview!

  • peoplebeproblems@midwest.social
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    3 months ago

    The act must be committed with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion

    No, see, that’s clearly false. The civilian population did not get intimidated or coerced by fuck and all, and the government wasn’t threatened.

    So, nope. Not guilty.

    • zib
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      3 months ago

      I think what the state is trying to say is that only corporate executives are people.

    • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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      3 months ago

      The government is run by corporatism, so maybe? But as for the public, this is most solidarity we’ve seen from US citizens in a while. We weren’t the target, nor did we feel like we were. We were Spartacus.

      • peoplebeproblems@midwest.social
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        3 months ago

        For a moment, I thought “hmm. What if we all said ‘No, I shot Brian Thompson’” sort of like what happened in Spartacus, but then I remembered that all 6000 slaves or whatnot were executed