Brendan Hunt, an enthusiastic Trump supporter who called for killing members of Congress days after the Jan. 6 insurrection, was found guilty Wednesday of making a death threat against elected officials.
It took the jury in his case about three hours to reach a verdict, finding that comments Hunt made in a disturbing video posted online two days after the U.S. Capitol riot amounted to a genuine threat to murder elected officials in Washington.
He faces up to 10 years in prison.
The jury also concluded that menacing social media posts Hunt made in 2020 — including one directed at Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), then the Senate minority leader, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — did not rise to the level of criminality.
Hunt, 37, was charged with one count of making a threat to assault and murder a United States official. He was arrested Jan. 19, a day before President Biden’s inauguration, after the FBI received a tip about his video, titled “KILL YOUR SENATORS: Slaughter them all.” The clip had been posted on BitChute, a hosting site popular with far-right conservatives, after the deadly riot in Washington.
Hunt’s prosecution in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn has been seen as a test of how far violent speech can go before it crosses a line into criminality. His lawyers argued that his comments, made from his Queens home, were constitutionally protected and that, while offensive, they were not legitimate threats.
Hunt’s prosecution in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn has been seen as a test of how far violent speech can go before it crosses a line into criminality. His lawyers argued that his comments, made from his Queens home, were constitutionally protected and that, while offensive, they were not legitimate threats.
Hunt also said he was heavily using marijuana and alcohol while struggling with depression and boredom during the coronavirus pandemic. He told the jury that the video he posted online after the Capitol riot was filmed while he was under the influence.
U.S. District Court Judge Pamela Chen had instructed jurors that while “intoxication in itself is not a legal defense to a criminal charge,” evidence of inhibition by drugs or alcohol can be considered to determine “whether he had intent.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...239624-a838-11eb-bca5-048b2759a489_story.html
an odd case...i'm actually not sure his saying these things should be a crime...a lot of stupid stuff gets said and shouldn't be criminalized