Terrible, But Not "Terrorism": the Death of Charlie Kirk

The murder of Charlie Kirk is tragic and unacceptable, and the perpetrator must face justice. If we can all agree on that, we can begin to heal.

But, it’s not “terrorism” under any definition, because at this point there has been zero indication that the alleged perpetrator acted with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or to influence or retaliate against government policy.

Branding Americans “domestic terrorists” when the label does not legally apply risks further dividing an already fractured country, and is yet one more strategy taken straight from the authoritarian’s playbook.   

We talk about this through the lens of a brand-new court opinion dismissing state terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of the United Health Care CEO.  The language there is instructive for any state AND federal so-called terrorism case, moving forward. 

 

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Dismissal of state terrorism counts of Luigi Mangioni and rationale;
• Whether the kirk murder case could and/or should go federal;
• Conflict of interest in the kirk case;
• The problem of pretrial publicity;
• Federal definition of terrorism;
• Federal guidelines that exponentially increase sentence in so-called terrorism cases;
• Definition of "civilian population”;
• All upward departures (except 5K) go away, come Nov. 1, 2025;
• The unfair and likely unconstitutional federal grand jury process;
• Ideology, in and of itself, is NOT terrorism.

 

LINK:  Prior episode on Terrorism Enhancement:  Ep. 108: Reign of Terror: Tesla, Luigi Mangione, & Beyond.