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Comment by V-eHGsd_ | Hacker News Reader

You _used_ to be able to indict a ham sandwich anyway. These days the federal government can’t even manage to indict someone caught on video throwing a hand sandwich at law enforcement.

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James Comey was indicted by the government for posting a picture of seashells.

don't stand next to the reflecting pool, you'll get arrested because the president is embarrassed by his own incompetence

For anyone not familiar with slang, to be "86'd" means banned. You get 86'd from a bar. They don't murder you on the way out.

In restaurant server parlance it means "item no longer available". The stock of baked potatoes has been depleted so the word goes out to the serving staff to "86 the baked potatoes".

you can indict a ham sandwich if you don't try to convince a grand jury that a mustard stain is terrorism. the grand jury found that throwing a sandwich at someone doesn't rise to the level of assault. what dude did was never contested, and they would have gotten a conviction if they charged appropriately, but instead they tried to "make an example" of him and instead they got made an example of.

What would have been the appropriate charge?

simple assault or disorderly conduct

But that wouldn't have put him in prison for life.

It does really demonstrate societal rot - the public's loss of trust in so-called "law enforcement" due to how they've come to often behave as lawless thugs. And so if you want to restore the public's trust (vital social technology), then advocate for civil rights and legal accountability on those tasked with enforcing the law!

This seems like a very one sided view honestly. You could also say that, these days, the federal government can’t even manage to indict their political enemies, because DOJ under the current admin keeps getting laughed out of court.

not every time. there are people in jail/prison due to the times that the DOJ does not get laughed out of court. I think someone accused of being "antifa" got 100 years to make an example. I don't have the article to site, but shouldn't be hard to find.

Contrast: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49386895>.

(Cop-City activist arrested for failure to provide smartphone data in a customs search.)

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