California politician advocates assassination of Obama and family

[UnrepentantLiberal]

11. Threatening the President of the United States

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threatening_the_President_of_the_United_States


Threatening the President of the United States is a class D felony under United States Code Title 18, Section 871. [38][39] The offense is punishable by five years in prison, [38] a $250,000 fine, [40] a $100 special assessment, [41] and 3 years of supervised release. [42] Internet restrictions such as a prohibition on access to email have been imposed on offenders who made their threats by computer. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines set a base offense level of 12 for sending threatening communication, but when a threat to the President is involved, a 6-level "official victim" enhancement applies. Moreover, "an upward departure may be warranted due to the potential disruption of the governmental function." [43] Further enhancements can apply if the offender evidenced an intent to carry out the threat (6-level enhancement); made more than two threats (2-level enhancement); caused substantial disruption of public, governmental, or business functions or services (4-level enhancement); or created a substantial risk of inciting others to harm federal officials (2-level enhancement). [44] Since each 6-level increase approximately doublesthe Guidelines sentencing range, it is not particularly rare for an offender who threatens the President to receive a sentence at or near the maximum, especially if he has a criminal history and/or does not qualify for a reduction for acceptance of responsibility. There is a 4-level decrease available for a threat involving a "single instance evidencing little or no deliberation", which would usually apply to spur-of-the-moment verbal threats. The maximum penalty for threatening a United States judge or a Federal law enforcement officer is 10 years imprisonment — double the maximum penalty for threatening the President.