• RangerJosie@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    They think they’re making an example. That this will have a chilling effect.

    They’re wrong. All this is going to do is radicalize even more people. As it should.

  • BigBenis@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Remember folks, the company reps you interact with are generally not the ones making the rules they are paid to abide by. They’re working for a living, just like us.

    With that, calling this an “act of terrorism” is an incredulous overreaction that just goes to show how badly they’re shitting their pants right now.

    • chakan2@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      They’re working for a living, just like us.

      They’re part of the machine that sucks the blood of the people. I wouldn’t advocate violence, but they’re not worthy of our respect.

    • DrDystopia@lemy.lol
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      7 days ago

      I’ve quit jobs because of ethical concerns before, these people don’t make a living just like me.

      • Shardikprime@lemmy.world
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        Imagine having the privilege of not having to compromise your morals because you can get a job just like that in this economy

        Edit: yes, y’all apparently are rocks or trees. The rest of us need to eat for sustenance and have responsibilities beyond " what news headline will garner my outrage today"

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          7 days ago

          Imagine not compromising my morals cost me a lot. Time after time. But as someone with a strong consciousness, I know it will cost me more to compromise on my personal values. It’s just that it’s not a monetary cost.

          You sound like an economical slave, why do you accept the situation?

          • ThrowawayOnLemmy@lemmy.world
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            6 days ago

            You sound like an economical slave, why do you accept the situation?

            Because I need food and shelter otherwise I die.

            • aquafunkalisticbootywhap@lemmy.sdf.org
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              6 days ago

              there is shelter and food, plenty to go around- it’s being locked behind an amoral paywall.

              do the moral things at your job and get fired over it. make it clear when you apply elsewhere why you were fired.

              if we’re being forced to choose between doing the right thing and surviving, the system is broken AND those hoarding obscene amounts, living in luxury, making the decisions to further screw customers and employees in the name of investors and executives need to be addressed, one way or another.

              …Im not saying any of this is easy, but the other option seems to be just try to be happy with the scraps they let us fight over? no thank you.

        • chakan2@lemmy.world
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          7 days ago

          I took that job and quit a month in for the same reason. I’d rather be in crippling debt than compromise my morals that badly. I couldn’t do it and look at myself in the mirror in the morning.

        • Blackrook7@lemmy.world
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          7 days ago

          That’s exactly how they want you to think and be.
          Angry at those with even a modicum more. But keep doing at Walmart and Amazon and every other conglomerate.

    • KeenFlame@feddit.nu
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      7 days ago

      We learned about individual responsibilities before, the slaying of poors is not just making a living, it’s not the corporate entity that is the evil it is the henchmen that have individual rights to say stop just like any soldier that is told to rape and plunder innocents

  • uis@lemm.ee
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    7 days ago

    First “witch” burned by inquisition of capitalism

  • realcaseyrollins@thelemmy.club
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    7 days ago

    According to the affidavit, 42-year-old Briana Boston used the phrase during a call with BlueCross BlueShield about a denied claim.

    “Delay, Deny, Depose. You people are next,” she allegedly said near the end of the call.

    The “You people are next” line certainly adds some context to this story.

    • Pazu900@lemmy.world
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      A bit, but it still doesn’t explain how this warrants terrorism charges and $100,000 bail. A visit from the police and probation or anger management courses? OK I still don’t really agree but it makes some sense. But not prison time. She’s getting punished harder than many rapists and child molesters.

      • Wrench@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        MAGA paraded with more direct threats of violence on signs, after Jan 6th, with no accountability.

      • realcaseyrollins@thelemmy.club
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        Why wouldn’t an insinuation of terrorism warrant a terrorism charge and a lot of bail money? That doesn’t make sense.

  • NostraDavid@programming.dev
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    6 days ago

    See, telling your supposed enemy your intentions was the first mistake. If you didn’t intend to go through with it, then it was just an empty threat. Either way it’s dumb.

  • extremeboredom@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Stephen Bonczyk of Lakeland Florida is a tyrant and fascist who doesn’t respect our right to free speech in the US. In my opinion.

  • shiroininja@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    Threatening the hospital that was denying my father care, leaving him to die, was the only way I got into the literal board room to reason with them. I got them to resume treatment after they dicked around for a month and he refused to leave because he was going to die if he left.

    He still died because he was so sick at that point that they couldn’t do the procedure he needed when he first arrived.

    So I threatened them in 2010, and I’d fucking do it again now for my child. We are supposed to stand up for our loved ones.

    • obre@lemmy.world
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      It’s disgusting. There needs to be legal recognition of all that is at stake for patients and their families. The denial of necessary care is structural violence and should be treated as such by everyone.

    • LillyPip@lemmy.ca
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      8 days ago

      got them to resume treatment after they dicked around for a month and he refused to leave because he was going to die if he left.

      I had to play this card once, too. I was in the cardiac unit for 28 days, and they were going to send me home because they couldn’t figure out what was wrong, and the insurance decided I wasn’t worth the expense anymore.

      I refused to leave until they gave me a diagnosis, because i would have just died otherwise.

      Pretty sure the healthcare system still wants that.

      • shiroininja@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        Financial extermination. But threat of violence would’ve been my next step in trial and error. It’s my family… I’d do anything for them. People even told me I should’ve. It was a tough situation and I was young. A little younger than Luigi.

  • Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com
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    8 days ago

    I imagine the “Delay, Deny, Depose” didn’t get her in trouble nearly as much as the “You people are next” part. Yeah, that’s a bit hostile there.

    • gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world
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      Please, marginalized people get more explicitly threatening crap said to them all the time and people rarely get arrested or charged for that. She’s being charged because the system wants to make an example out of her. The judge basically said so himself at the bail hearing,

      “I do find that the bond of $100,000 is appropriate considering the status of our country at this point,” the judge said.

      • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
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        7 days ago

        100k for a threat made in reaction to what was likely fear for her life, or the life of her loved one.

        It’s pretty amazingly cruel.

      • ArtieShaw@fedia.io
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        8 days ago

        Ouch. “This place is a shit show,” the judge said. (Not really, just fixed it for him).

      • Kalysta@lemm.ee
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        7 days ago

        They need to appeal this. Clear judicial error. If he wouldn’t have done this 3 weeks ago legally he can’t do it now.

      • Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com
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        Not saying you are wrong about the marginalized, but in this case she made, what could be considered threatening, a call to a health care provider that was not only actionable, but entirely recorded.

        “The system” won’t make an example out of her, “Exhibit A” will. That’s the difference.

        • Serinus@lemmy.world
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          It’s both.

          $100k bond for a threat that is neither specific nor credible is absurd.

          If it were a first time offender threat against a normal person (which is more specific), at most it would result in probation and a restraining order.

    • zaph@sh.itjust.works
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      8 days ago

      I’ve met victims of domestic violence who were threatened much worse than “you guys are next” so I’m not buying this as anything other than the system trying to use her as an example.

      • tamal3@lemmy.world
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        Oops, I completely misinterpreted your comment. Not sure what etiquette says, but I feel silly and am removing mine.

        I agree that this person saying “you guys are next” is not a threat to the degree that it should be chargeable, and that she’s being made an example of.

        • zaph@sh.itjust.works
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          Just want to point out that your example implies domestic violence is a lower level of violence, and as such this shouldn’t count as a real threat?

          Reading comprehension ain’t for everyone.

          Edit: on some reflection that might be a rude reply if you don’t already know that domestic violence threats in the US are largely ignored.

          • tamal3@lemmy.world
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            Thanks for the reflection edit! I don’t think I’m stupid, but you’re right that I didn’t read your comment correctly. Do you want me to remove my original reply?

            Edit: decided to remove

        • brbposting@sh.itjust.works
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          8 days ago

          I recommend doing it like I did below the horizontal lines down there 👇

          btw, tap me 4 formatting tip

          To strike through, use ~~ before and after the offending text:

          ~~This text would be strike’d~~
          



          The United States has the most equitable healthcare system on earth.

          Edit: sorry about that, cat stepped on my keyboard

        • brbposting@sh.itjust.works
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          8 days ago

          For something really embarrassing -

          Original embarrassing comment:

          I hate Star Trek

          Newly edited comment:

          edit: removed opinion I reconsidered

    • frustrated_phagocytosis@fedia.io
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      There’s no direct threat there more than saying the boogeyman will get you. People threaten marginalized communities like this on TV, radio and social media every day with no impunity because it’s just vague enough not to count because stochastic terrorism is totally cool for SOME people.

      • Capt. Wolf@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        First amendment doesn’t cover true threats. So it all kinda depends on context and whether who it was said to felt as though they were in real danger.

        • frustrated_phagocytosis@fedia.io
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          8 days ago

          Bullshit. Denying life saving care is a much much much more direct threat to life, as are abortion denials. The concept of a true threat depends mainly on whether you are an acceptable threat maker or not.

          • meco03211@lemmy.world
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            Except if you are actively dying and I refuse to help in my personal capacity, I’m not threatening to harm you. I’m just not helping you from imminent harm (presuming I didn’t cause that imminent harm). Now if you’re on fire and I’m currently watering my lawn with the hose when you ask for help, it’s shitty of me to not help. But if you’re in a gunfight with someone and you’re asking me to render aid as they are still a threat, sorry pal.

            E: Apparently some ignorant idealists don’t like making a distinction. Tough shit. From a legal standpoint, that’s how it works.

            • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
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              Now if you’re on fire and I’m currently watering my lawn with the hose when you ask for help, it’s shitty of me to not help.

              Inaction is still an action. If you have the ability to save someone and you let them die, you may as well have started the fire yourself.

              The only real point you have is that you don’t render aid when there’s an active threat.

            • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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              I’m just not helping you from imminent harm

              Doesn’t the law protect that in some way? I thought medical professionals were compelled to save lives first and then “worry” about costs later with the Hippocratic Oath and all. Or maybe it’s limited to some instances? Idk, I’m not from the US and our system works way differently.

              • meco03211@lemmy.world
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                8 days ago

                That is a “good Samaritan” law. They can compel you to help, but that could be calling law enforcement. That’s also why in my examples the gunfight still had a deadly threat. No laws compel you to put yourself in danger to help.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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          That doesn’t seem like a true threat to me.

          https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/true-threats

          A person speaking out of anger who the person does not have a real reason to fear and believe they’ll follow through is not a true threat. Saying “you’re next” is clearly hyperbole. There’s no chance she loses this case. They’re just trying to make an example out of her for the moment to scare other people.

          You might say it is a true threat in and of itself. There is very good reason for people to believe the state will arrest more people who use this speech. They’re assuming this is true, because they want them to fear them in order to stop them. This is what we call terrorism, except it’s the state doing it so I guess it’s totally fine.

        • samus12345@lemm.ee
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          Even more importantly, it matters who you’re threatening. Your wife? Meh, no biggie. An insurance company? Straight to jail.

      • dan1101@lemm.ee
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        8 days ago

        Do not threaten commerce, they don’t tolerate that. The money must flow at all costs.

    • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Talk to any call center worker at any shitty company in the US and they’ll tell you they’ve heard the same thing or worse before. This isn’t new for shitty companies at all, they’re just trying to make it seem like it’s new in response to this situation and not something that they’ve been ignoring for decades.

    • robocall@lemmy.world
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      I can agree with your statement, but is it an act of terrorism? I don’t think her threat should be categorized as terrorism.

      • Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com
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        I don’t think it’s terrorism either as I understand. Terrorism targets citizens for leverage.

    • Wogi@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Clearly she was saying that they were next to receive a gift basket for all their hard work in denying claims for profit

  • Stopthatgirl7@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    Remember this the next time the cops tell someone they can’t do anything about a stalker or angry ex threatening to kill them until they actually act. They can do something. They choose not to.

    • joker125@lemmy.world
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      Funny part is insurance companies hear worse than this all day long however this is their trigger.

      L O L

      • shadowfax13@lemmy.ml
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        7 days ago

        previously it was at some poor customer support agent in a 3rd world country, now the danger is to the mega donors oligarchy club members.

        won’t be tolerated.

    • ERROR: Earth.exe has crashed@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      You people are next

      Yea this part is not gonna look good in court.

      Just those 3 words without adding more would sound less bad, might not have gotten out of the arrest, but adding “You people are next” just ensured the arrest and charges.

      • SuperSaiyanSwag@lemmy.zip
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        I was literally told by some dude that “if I see you again, I’ll fucking kill you” while I was walking my dog at night around my town’s library. I told the police and they didn’t do jack shit. Whereas this lady gets a hit by a $100,000 bond?

      • skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de
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        Yet, if some citizen tells another citizen directly, “I’m going to kill you until you are dead,” and that second citizen then goes to the police to report it, the police will respond, “we have no proof other than your hearsay, person one has to actually commit some act of violence before we can even issue a restraining order (worthless) let alone do any ‘police work.’”

        This is how it acts in citizen-to-citizen interaction in the real world. A business gets special treatment versus a citizen, yet again.

        (Regardless of how crass or inappropriate her angry comment was. Remember: America lets Nazis exist because “free speech” - it’s a huge hypocrisy.)

        • ERROR: Earth.exe has crashed@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          In the Article:

          According to the affidavit, 42-year-old Briana Boston used the phrase during a call with BlueCross BlueShield about a denied claim.

          Her problem is that she said it over the phone, every company records all phone calls, they always have an automatic voice saying “this call will be recorded for quality and training purposes” that makes anything you say after implied to have given consent for the recording, bypassing any two-party comsent laws.

          I don’t dispute the fact that corporations and rich people have preferrential treatment, but having evidence like a phone call recording is what’s ultimately gonna get law enforcement to act.

          If you have a video of someone saying “I’m gonna get my gun and shoot you until your’re dead” to your face, that would probably have higher chances of getting law enforcement to act rather than just a “he said she said” heresay. No guarantees that they’ll act (cops are mostly lazy and don’t wanna do their jobs), but its much much better than just you claiming they threatened you without providing any evidence.

          • dan@upvote.au
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            that makes anything you say after implied to have given consent for the recording, bypassing any two-party comsent laws.

            That… doesn’t sound like two party consent to me. Are you saying that I can tell someone “I’m recording this call” and they don’t have to actually consent, they just have to not mention it?

            • ERROR: Earth.exe has crashed@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              You can’t secretly record phone calls in two party consent states. But you can say “Just so you know, this phone call is being recorded” and if they continue to talk, they are implicitly giving consent. At least that’s how it always have worked, otherwise it would’ve been illegal for basically every company to record phone calls. Every called customer service for any reason? Notice how they all tell you that the call is recorded? Its been like this since I ever learned about phone calls. If it’s illegal, you’d be hearing about lawsuits all the time.

              • dan@upvote.au
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                Makes sense. I don’t usually call customer service - I tend to use email or social media where possible, so that I have everything in writing with timestamps, just in case I need to refer back to it or use it as evidence.

                Does that mean I can also record them?

                • ERROR: Earth.exe has crashed@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                  You can. I’d also say “Just letting you know, I’m recording this phone call” just to be on the safe side.

                  I mean you could always make illegal recordings and you won’t get arrested, its just that it might not be admissible in court.

                  And if you live in a one-party consent state, its always legal to record, even when the other person is in a two-party consent state, even without informing or getting consent.

              • Vespair@lemm.ee
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                But you can say “Just so you know, this phone call is being recorded” and if they continue to talk, they are implicitly giving consent

                Which makes it kind of bullshit and not two-party, since in many cases this is effectively the only means of communicating with these companies. There is no real option to not consent, especially in the case of healthcare companies, since it’s not like a person can just choose to not have a body with real medical concerns (and in the US you legally can’t even go uninsured without penalty). Calling this “two party” at this point is a fucking joke.

                • Shardikprime@lemmy.world
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                  You can literally choose to not say anything about threatening or murdering someone over a recorded call.

              • JovialMicrobial@lemm.ee
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                And if you hang up you can’t deal with the claim denial. So really, wouldn’t that start to tread the line of coercion? If you don’t consent to being recorded we’ll continue to deny healthcare.

            • _cryptagion@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              Some states you don’t even need that. I live in a one-party state, so I wouldn’t need to tell someone they’re being recorded, as long as I knew they were.

        • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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          If you have a recording of someone threatening to kill you, the police can absolutely act.

          Threatening to kill someone unless they give you what you want is not protected speech. Otherwise, you could walk into a bank, demand they give you money under threat of violence, then walk out having committed no crimes.

          • InputZero@lemmy.world
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            I’m sorry to say, but that’s not necessarily true. It would need to be a police recording or record of someone threatening you for them to actually have to do anything. You could walk into a precinct with a bona fide video of someone making a serious threat to your life and the police typically won’t do anything about it. That same person could make a clip about murdering you and post it online with a clear plan to kill you and the police still wouldn’t have to act. All of that is hearsay, regardless of how serious the intent is and the police can choose to ignore it. Unless it’s someone worth helping, someone who might be able to make a sizable donation.

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              The police doesn’t have to act if a person drags another person into the precinct and murders them in front of all the cops according stupid US courts (Warren v. District of Columbia).

              That’s why 2a and self-defense are such important rights. You want to be safe? Better take care of it yourself (or elect a 3rd party that will change the status quo, but fantasy solutions don’t count).

          • Shardikprime@lemmy.world
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            7 days ago

            Remember the time Lemmy was so outraged at the elections that they, un ironically, became Unabomber stans

      • Verqix@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        She didn’t say she was going to be involved in whatever the “next” thing ment. Might have been a heart-felt warning against vigilantes.Also, the “next” thing might well have been “…to get much needed care denied”.

        Legally this is so flimsy it’s a waste of time. Looking at wording from politicians there’s way more direct calls to violence which will never be prosecuted. In practice it shows the pull of big corporations with cops, and inconveniences the life of an already inconvenienced person.

      • gift_of_gab@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        It’s weird, because I took it to mean that the people she’s talking to are going to be denied insurance in some way next.

        I mean we can assume, and it’s fairly likely, that it was a reference to the assassination, but American court is fucked if this is enough.