Is criticism of the Federal government considered an act of terrorism?

[Mack C. Gaston]

Although I cannot go into further detail regarding why he is being held, because I have no knowledge of why, I will tell you that Brandon posted “Sharpen up my axe; I’m here to sever heads.” which appears to be a song lyric. He was simply exercising his first amendment freedom and it had nothing to do with being "anti-government"; it was simply him posting a lyric to a song.

[shallowhorse026]

Not unless you threaten violence or violent overthrow. Same as always.

[curvedsquirrel370]

"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first."

Thomas Jefferson

[Gandhi]

Only Lunatics and Zionists believe criticizing the Government is an act of treason or terrorism.

The American People had better grow up and stop being afraid to identify your real enemy for fear of being branded as one thing or another.

The People who are behind all hate crimes and all bills passed which are stripping away the Constitution and Bill of RIGHTS are Zionists.

Zionists are not all Jews, so stop being afraid to stand up and speak out against these psychopaths...they are destroying the free world.

STOP THEM NOW.

Or enjoy your chains.

This is the TRUTH.

[crookednest545]

To your heading question, no, it is not.

Here are some other questions and answers:

Q) Are law enforcement officials authorized to place handcuffs on a subject if not immediately placing the subject under arrest?
A) Yes. Handcuffs are a judgment call based on concern for the general safety of both the officer(s) and the subject involved (and the general public as well).
Q) Is "Sharpen my axe; I'm here to sever heads." (allegedly posted by the subject in question on his Facebook page) a threatening statement that could potentially attract the attention of law enforcement officials and even merit investigation?
A) Yes. For example, famous musician Ted Nugent said something very similar to an audience and was subsequently investigated and interviewed in the interest of determining the authenticity of the apparent threat.
Q) Is there a legal process for the involuntary placement of a subject in a mental health institution for psychological evaluation?
A) Yes. If in the course of an investigation, law enforcement officials should consider a subject potentially dangerous to himself and / or others, they may file a petition with a court to place the subject involuntarily in the custody of an appropriate facility for observation and evaluation. (Private individuals such as family members for example can also initiate this process.)
Q) Is there a time limit on the observation and evaluation period?
A) Yes. A court generally specifies a time frame for the observation and evaluation period but that time frame can change based on the findings of the evaluation.
Q) Is the government responsible for the general safety of the public?
A) Yes. It is a Constitutionally establish responsibility. For example, were law enforcement officials aware of threats issued by a certain subject to conduct no investigation and the subject then subsequently killed some number of people with say, an axe for example, the law enforcement officials in question could potentially be subject to disciplinary actions including dismissal. (Quote from a spokesperson on this particular case: "Given the circumstances with the things that have gone on in the country with some of these mass shootings, it would be horrible for law enforcement not to pay attention to complaints.")

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21...17484.html


You're not lying about anything but your characterization of this case is constructively naive. Nobody is persecuting this guy JUST BECAUSE he "criticized the government" (and nobody accused him of "terrorism" either). It looks to me like he attracted attention just like Ted Nugent attracted attention by saying something outlandishly threatening except evidently, this guy is even more of an unstable kook than Ted Nugent. He's not under arrest. He's just a kook that no one has been able to evaluate as "safe for exposure to the general public" yet.

I got no problem with any of this. This is exactly what I expect my government to do. Your First Amendment right means you can post on your Facebook page (or say aloud), "I'm going to sharpen up my axe then go to the polling place and chop off liberals' heads!" and no governmental agency will screen and censor your speech prior to the communication. It doesn't mean there are no consequences for death threats. Ted Nugent and this random nut bag exercised their freedom of speech and nothing prevented them from doing it. Yea, Freedom of Speech! Meanwhile, the government is apparently still fullfilling some slim percentage of its responsibilities by investigating death threats from unstable kooks.