When Is A Terrorist Not A Terrorist?
from the probably-just-a-coincidence dept
Here's a little quiz. On the basis of the following information from the Guardian, is the person described a terrorist or not?A [UK] soldier who wrote of murdering immigrants and who praised Adolf Hitler has been jailed for two years after building a viable nailbomb packed with 181 pieces of shrapnel to maximise the carnage it would cause.Here's a clue:
Ryan McGee, 20, described by his defence team as "a bit of a loner", wrote in a journal: "I vow to drag every last immigrant into the fires of hell with me."If you're still unsure, maybe this will help:
He downloaded a video of two bound and gagged men beneath a swastika flag, one being beheaded and the other killed by a gunshot to the head and went online to tell people to do something if they hated immigration.Here's the correct answer, kindly provided by the UK's prosecution service:
It had decided not to prosecute McGee as a terrorist because "it was never McGee’s intention to use the device for any terrorist or violent purpose, and that he had no firm intention to activate the device."Presumably he built the nailbomb "packed with 181 pieces of shrapnel to maximise the carnage it would cause" purely as an intellectual challenge, or maybe to give to his mother to use as a flower stand. Still, this refusal to prosecute such behavior as "terrorism" is rather curious in an age when so many harmless activities are viewed with suspicion and alarm. A cynic might almost think it had something to do with the race of the person involved.
Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and +glynmoody on Google+
Filed Under: hate crimes, law enforcement, ryan mcgee, subjectivity, terrorism, terrorist, uk
