At least one person on here has argued that now that David Petraeus has stated "Pastor" Terry Jones' planned Quran burning would endanger the troops, Jones should be punished under the Patriot Act. As idiotic as I find Jones' plans, using the Patriot Act would open up a can of worms that could be exploited by an administration less solicitous about civil rights.
There is, however, one way to put Jones out of action for good. And I don't mean nuking his Website (though apparently his ISP has already done that--can't access it at the moment). No, I mean whack him with a RICO indictment.
On Sunday, Backgr0und N015e outlined a financial shell game that would make any con man proud. To wit, Jones and his wife Sylvia operate a for-profit holding company at the same address as their church. At the very least, it's tax evasion. At most, it's money laundering. And if it's the latter, it's happened enough times over the last 10 years to qualify for a RICO indictment.
For those who don't know, RICO states that anyone who commits money laundering or any one of 34 other crimes twice in a 10-year period can be charged with racketeering. A racketeering charge carries 20 years--per count. It's also really easy to prove in court, since all you have to do is prove a pattern of criminal behavior. The real beauty of it is that Jones would have to put up a performance bond equivalent to the amount of the proposed forfeiture, in lieu of having his assets frozen. This provision was put in because Mafia-controlled corporations have a habit of absconding with the assets.
Moreover, RICO also has a civil component that allows individuals to sue for treble damages. Hmmm--perhaps the people who worked at that sweatshop in Cologne might have cause to sue?
Between all that, Jones could literally be sucked dry. Poetic justice, I think. Now the question is, will a prosecutor have the cojones to drop this hammer on him?