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  2. Responsibility for the Crimes of ‘Trained’ Protestors
January 9, 2026 at 4:45 PM

Responsibility for the Crimes of ‘Trained’ Protestors

Old Bathos
@OldBathos

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18 U.S. Code § 373 - Solicitation to commit a crime of violence

(a) Whoever, with intent that another person engage in conduct constituting a felony that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against property or against the person of another in violation of the laws of the United States, and under circumstances strongly corroborative of that intent, solicits, commands, induces, or otherwise endeavors to persuade such other person to engage in such conduct, shall be imprisoned not more than one-half the maximum term of imprisonment or (notwithstanding section 3571) fined not more than one-half of the maximum fine prescribed for the punishment of the crime solicited, or both; or if the crime solicited is punishable by life imprisonment or death, shall be imprisoned for not more than twenty years.

Persuading idiots to perform criminal acts (e.g., assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers, as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 111) is a crime. The fact that the one being urged to commit the crime is a drug-addled, mental defective or emotional basket case is not an excuse or defense:

(c) It is not a defense to a prosecution under this section that the person solicited could not be convicted of the crime because he lacked the state of mind required for its commission, because he was incompetent or irresponsible, or because he is immune from prosecution or is not subject to prosecution.

The woman shot in Minnesota was allegedly "trained" to interfere with ICE. Are her trainers guilty of criminal solicitation or even felony murder? And the likelihood that she was not a person of consistently sound judgment would not be a defense in accordance with section (c) and possibly an aggravating factor.

If you recall, during the massive roundup and prosecution of J6 participants, experts told us that Donald Trump should have been prosecuted under § 373—even if he did not specifically tell people to violate the law, as Ray Epps did.

Wealthy lefties paying organizers to recruit and manipulate the emotionally unstable to encourage criminal activities should be made to pay.

Martin Luther King was quite clear that civil rights protestors must never be violent and never assume an entitlement to be free of sanctions or consequences for lawbreaking on the grounds that the cause was righteous. Sacrifice and risk are part of the deal and grant no entitlements. In stark contrast, the sheer narcissism of the modern activist left—I can break things, disrupt people's lives and even hurt cops because they are bad, but I am immune and entitled because I am so right—is quite pronounced and very dangerous. The dehumanization of cops, Jews, MAGA hat-wearers and whoever else happens to be on the other side in the moment is very, very wrong.

This post was promoted to the Main Feed at the recommendation of Ricochet's members.

Discussion (38)

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    Full Size Tabby@FullSizeTabby·39w

    The contrast between the entitled protesters of today, who expect to pay no consequences for their actions, and the protesters of 60 years ago is striking. Yet today's protesters try to claim the mantle of righteousness from the earlier protesters.

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    Old Bathos@OldBathos·39w
    ReplyingtoFull Size Tabby

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    The contrast between the entitled protesters of today, who expect to pay no consequences for their actions, and the protesters of 60 years ago is striking. Yet today’s protesters try to claim the mantle of righteousness from the earlier protesters.

    Exactly.

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    cdor@cdor·39w
    ReplyingtoOld Bathos

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    The contrast between the entitled protesters of today, who expect to pay no consequences for their actions, and the protesters of 60 years ago is striking. Yet today’s protesters try to claim the mantle of righteousness from the earlier protesters.

    Old Bathos (View Comment):

    Exactly.

    Their behavior is much worse than arrogant teenagers. This current group of self-righteous leftists believes they are so morally superior that they have the right to destroy other people's property, disrupt an entire city or country, and even kill people who get in their way.

    I am not a lawyer, but in addition to the law quoted in the OP, I feel certain there is a law against impeding Federal officers while they are performing their duties. That would include doing things that would notify a person of impending police attempts to interdict them. Many decades ago, in my youth, I waved from the sidewalk to oncoming traffic, notifying them of a speed trap ahead. The police saw me and arrested me. The charge was interfering with police activity ( I can't remember the exact language). It was exactly what these ICE whistlers are doing, but they are acting with much more physicality.

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    Old Bathos@OldBathos·39w
    Replyingtocdor

    cdor (View Comment):

    I am not a lawyer, but in addition to the law quoted in the OP, I feel certain there is a law against impeding Federal officers while they are performing their duties.

    There is such a law:

    18 U.S. Code § 111 - Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees

    (a)In General.—Whoever—(1) forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with any person designated in section 1114 of this title [note: any federal employee of any agency or any member of the armed forces] while engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties; or

    (2) forcibly assaults or intimidates any person who formerly served as a person designated in section 1114 on account of the performance of official duties during such person’s term of service,shall, where the acts in violation of this section constitute only simple assault, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both, and where such acts involve physical contact with the victim of that assault or the intent to commit another felony, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both.

    (b)Enhanced Penalty.—Whoever, in the commission of any acts described in subsection (a), uses a deadly or dangerous weapon (including a weapon intended to cause death or danger but that fails to do so by reason of a defective component) or inflicts bodily injury, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

    (c)Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.—There is extraterritorial jurisdiction over the conduct prohibited by this section.

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    Bob Thompson@BobThompson·39w
    Replyingtocdor

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    The contrast between the entitled protesters of today, who expect to pay no consequences for their actions, and the protesters of 60 years ago is striking. Yet today’s protesters try to claim the mantle of righteousness from the earlier protesters.

    Old Bathos (View Comment):

    Exactly.

    cdor (View Comment):

    Their behavior is much worse than arrogant teenagers. This current group of self-righteous leftists believes they are so morally superior that they have the right to destroy other people’s property, disrupt an entire city or country, and even kill people who get in their way.

    I am not a lawyer, but in addition to the law quoted in the OP, I feel certain there is a law against impeding Federal officers while they are performing their duties. That would include doing things that would notify a person of impending police attempts to interdict them. Many decades ago, in my youth, I waved from the sidewalk to oncoming traffic, notifying them of a speed trap ahead. The police saw me and arrested me. The charge was interfering with police activity ( I can’t remember the exact language). It was exactly what these ICE whistlers are doing, but they are acting with much more physicality.

    There appears to be a total lack of understanding or recognition that there are multiple levels of government responsibilities with laws at each level that are enforced by personnel employed at those different levels and also that the federal laws and enforcement constitutionally prevail over state and local.

    I have never before seen this kind of divide on these issues.

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