There were a few diaries posted several days ago about a man named Travis Corcoran in MA , a businessman and blogger who shortly after the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords proclaimed:
“1 down and 534 to go”
in a blog post which has since been taken down.
If you're unfamiliar with the backstory, here's a previously recommended diary by medeiros2010: *UPDATED* Right wing Massachusetts businessman applauds AZ shooting
ThinkProgress reports today that:
Police Seize ‘Large Amount’ Of Weapons From Blogger Who Praised Gifffords Shooting: ‘1 Down And 534 To Go’
This won't be much of a diary but it is something I think the community would want to know.
Police in Arlington, MA this week seized a “large amount” of weapons and ammunition from local businessman Travis Corcoran after he wrote a blog post threatening U.S. lawmakers in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). In a post on his blog (which has since been removed) titled “1 down and 534 to go” — 1 referring to Giffords and 534 referring to the rest of the House of Representatives
The Arlington Police have this to say:
“We certainly take this as a credible threat,” Arlington police Captain Robert Bongiorno told reporters, adding that “multiple federal law enforcement agencies” were involved. Authorities also suspended Corcoran’s gun license, though he is currently not facing any charges
.
Why he's not facing any charges is something I ask on an emotional level. I don't know legally what charges he could / should face but there should be some!
Corcoran calls himself an "anarcho-capitalist" which seems like an excuse to be a dangerous two year old who believes "I can do what I want".
H/T to blueoregon who went in search of the definition of "anarcho-capitalist" which you might assume is made up, but is a real philosophy:
Anarcho-capitalism (also known as “libertarian anarchy”[1][2] or “market anarchism”[3] or “free market anarchism”[4]) is a libertarian[5][6] and individualist anarchist[7] political philosophy that advocates the elimination of the state in favor of individual sovereignty in a free market. Economist Murray Rothbard is credited with coining the term.[8][9] In an anarcho-capitalist society, law enforcement, courts, and all other security services would be provided by voluntarily-funded competitors such as private defense agencies rather than through taxation, and money would be privately and competitively provided in an open market. According to anarcho-capitalists, personal and economic activities would be regulated by the natural laws of the market and through private law rather than through politics. Furthermore, victimless crimes and crimes against the state would not exist.
Anarcho-capitalists argue for a society based on the voluntary trade of private property and services (including money, consumer goods, land, and capital goods) in order to maximize individual liberty and prosperity. However, they also recognize charity and communal arrangements as part of the same voluntary ethic.[10] Though anarcho-capitalists are known for asserting a right to private (individualized or joint non-public) property, some propose that non-state public or community property can also exist in an anarcho-capitalist society.[11] For them, what is important is that it is acquired and transferred without help or hindrance from the compulsory state. Anarcho-capitalist libertarians believe that the only just, and/or most economically-beneficial, way to acquire property is through voluntary trade, gift, or labor-based original appropriation, rather than through aggression or fraud.[12]
His blog has been taken down but the Twitterverse is still open to him:
“I assert that the US federal gov has grown unconstitutionally large, and the legislature exceeds the powers delegated to it by the people,” Corcoran wrote. “As per the Declaration of Indep, when a gov becomes destructive those ends, it may be abolished,” he continued, “and the most moral approach is that which spares the maximum number of lives. Thus, assasination is a legitimate tool.”
He goes on to further justify assassination as “morally legitimate,” citing “Catholic Just War doctrine” among other theories, and explains, “It’s illegal, yes, but it’s not un-American. America was founded on the idea of shooting gov officials. Lexington Concord!” In another tweet, he writes, “I disagree with murder. …but shooting politicians who pass illegitimate, unconstitutional laws is not murder.” And in case there’s any doubt about his sincery, he writes, “Nope, it’s not a joke. I’m 100% serious.”
Again, he's not facing charges because....? Sedition at least? Oh and he's a fan of the Rand. Paul, not Ayn but probably her too.
Update...Unrelated, Yet Not:
People have posted in the comments reasons why Corcoran hasn't been charged with anything. Yet in another story I just read (which has nothing directly to do with Corcoran):
Florida Bill Would Make It A Felony For Doctors To Ask Patients About Gun Ownership
Sponsored by Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, the bill (HB 155) would make it a felony for a physician or staff member to ask patients or family members of patients if they own guns or store guns at home. If found guilty, the medical provider could be fined up to $5 million or face up to five years in jail.
So under this proposed law, in a case where a physician or health care provider suspects someone may be mentally unstable, the simple act of asking if they owned a gun or had guns at home would be the crime, yet Corcoran's explicit assassination desires are A-OK.
Complicated much?