WASHINGTON LETTER
Lick toiletries in a Missouri supermarket in mid-March, while having fun " who is afraid of coronavirus? Was probably not the brightest idea. By posting the video of his exploits on Facebook, a young man of 26 made at least three errors of judgment: he underestimated the dangerousness of the Covid-19, neglected the fear engendered by the pandemic in the country and under- assessed the judicial response to confusing behavior, to say the least; the act of a " dumbass ", Moreover judged his lawyer. Identified through social networks, the " dumbass Was charged with " second degree terrorist threat ", A crime under American law.
The time was thus made that this qualification now applies to people who intentionally cough and spit on their fellow citizens, the police or consumer products.
Biological weapon
In this strange context, the United States Department of Justice has in fact been asking the police for several weeks to apply to the offenses related to the voluntary spread of Covid-19 the legislation usually reserved for acts of terrorism. Judicial authorities believe that the virus can be considered a " biological agent "Potentially used as a" armed "
You had to think about it, but obviously, the young man from Missouri is not an isolated case. Across the country, several other people claiming to be infected were caught expectorating from traders or property, and also charged with "Terrorist threats". Some states are less harsh, apparently anxious not to criminalize the psychological excesses of a few individuals, while in these times of health crisis, justice is working to limit the prison population.
In Massachusetts, a 65-year-old man who had conscientiously spit on a supermarket's fruit and vegetable stalls before being subdued by a group of customers was only prosecuted for "Willful assault". The store destroyed all of the products, disinfected all the shelves and banished the sixty-year-old for life.
Police on the front line
A rarer incident, but symbolic of the growing tensions between the population and the police force called upon to enforce confinement and social distancing, occurred in Baltimore (Maryland), where a white police officer was caught coughing ostensibly towards a group of black inhabitants, after a woman had taken it to task.
