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A thought...
With all the boycotts and other reprisals against people who "voted the wrong way" in 2016 or have stated their intent to do the same in 2020,
42 U.S. Code §1985(3) provides:
"...if two or more persons conspire to prevent by force, intimidation, or threat, any citizen who is lawfully entitled to vote, from giving his support or advocacy in a legal manner, toward or in favor of the election of any lawfully qualified person as an elector for President or Vice President, or as a Member of Congress of the United States; or to injure any citizen in person or property on account of such support or advocacy ... the party so injured or deprived may have an action for the recovery of damages occasioned by such injury or deprivation, against any one or more of the conspirators."
§1985 was enacted as one of the Reconstruction-era "anti-Klan" Acts. Boycotts, of course, have some First Amendment protections. The decision to boycott someone is a personal choice. Advocacy of the boycott is generally First Amendment protected. Its protection may be reduced (haven't researched it) if the boycott is punish someone else's exercise of federally-protected rights. But where the situation is: you should boycott X Company because it has dealings with or supported Y, to whose opinions we object, as I recall, those protections became small indeed.
UPDATE: 18 USC 1983 (civil lawsuit for deprivation of rights under color of law) suits are a dime a dozen. Actions under its criminal analog -- I think it's 18 USC 242 -- are quite rare.
42 USC 1985(3) makes any conspirator liable -- so it's not just rioters or possibly boycotters who are liable, but also anyone who organized them, financed them, etc.
3 Comments | Leave a comment
Our plan is to vote as we damn well please, and then not go into a city for a couple of months... or until the fires burn themselves out.
Not nearly enough and what are seem to be made only for left-wing purposes. For example against the cops that were acquitted by the state jury in the Rodney King affair. That was Bill Barr's doing btw.
How often are any charges made under any of the civil rights laws? In particular those 'under color of authority laws'?
thx