Road Rage Suspect Charged with "committing a terroristic act"

[tex-wyo-dem]

Odd story about a guy arrested for shooting at another motorist with a crossbow, of all things. But what caught my eye was the guy was charged with, among other things, "committing a terroristic act." This is the first time I have ever seen a crime that would usually fall under "assault with a deadly weapon" or "attempted murder" be legally linked with terrorism.

Wonder if the guy will disappear to Gitmo?

Road rage leads to ’drive-by crossbow shooting’ in Arkansas

Associated Press

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- A Little Rock man whose SUV was cut off in traffic was arrested after he allegedly shot at a motorist with a crossbow following a brief chase. "It was a drive-by crossbow shooting," said Steve Gilgenbach, a pitcher for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock baseball team who said he was the man's intended target. "I've never been shot at by a crossbow before."

Wayne Allen Dierks Jr., 26, posted bail after his arrest Sunday on charges of committing a terroristic act, possession of an instrument of crime, driving while intoxicated and driving on a suspended driver's license. Committing a terroristic act is a felony; the other charges are misdemeanors. An arraignment was set for Oct. 25.

Gilgenbach acknowledged cutting in front of Dierks on Interstate 630 in midtown Little Rock.

"I was merging on the highway and I had to get in, so I cut the guy off," Gilgenbach said. "He started following me, cursing at me and yelling for me to pull over."

<more>

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-story.php?story=220403

[Kagemusha]

1. Does a terroristic act = terrorism charges, though?

I'm not a lawyer and I haven't been able to tell from casually hearing about these things but, the sense I got was that a terroristic act is not the same as a crime of terrorism, per se...

I'm sort of curious which is which.

[tex-wyo-dem]

3. I'm curious too...

I don't believe it carries the same weight as a "act of terrorism" but, like I said, this is the first time I've seen a charge of a "terroristic act." I've always understood a crime like this to be assault with a deadly weapon.

[KansDem]

2. Uh-oh, time to get the ol' waterboard out!

It's O.K. now, doncha know...

[ThomCat]

4. We knew this would happen.

More and more crimes are going to become "terrorism." It's as if we never had laws against assault before the repuglicans pushed terrorism laws on us.
x(

[Solo_in_MD]

13. terroristic threats !=terrorism

They are not the same thing.

[ThomCat]

18. Duh. But if you were tried as a Terrorist using new

anti-terrorism laws then it's a clear abuse of those laws. And it's an abuse we foresaw.
:eyes:

[tanyev]

5. I worked in a sheriff's records office back in the early 90s

and "terroristic threats" was a common charge way before 9/11 that was used if someone contacted you and threatened to hurt you.

[LostinVA]

9. Ha! We posted this at the same time

[Kagemusha]

15. Thank you, that is exactly what I thought...

So it bears no relation to Patriot Act/ Patriot Act II related offenses...

[flyingfysh]

6. this shows a curious telescoping of the legal system

It used to be the case that we had lots of laws banning various kinds of behavior. We have robbery laws, murder laws, laws about threatening people, etc. Now it looks like the trend is to replace all of these by a "terrorist act" law.

This could make law school an immensely simpler process. You only need to learn about one law.

[LostinVA]

7. Some states have "terroristic threat" charges

And, have way prior to 9/11. For example, I know in NJ stalking is considered such a crime.

[bullimiami]

8. i guess hes at the mercy of mad king george now.

[BlooInBloo]

10. Ouch. gw just signed the Dictator Act today too....

[Ian David]

11. Did he throw down his gauntlet, first? n/t

[C_U_L8R]

12. Is posting on DU a terroristic act?

when they come for us.. will there be anyone left to stand up?

[jahyarain]

14. imo

pieces of trash like the drunken crossbow shooting driver SHOULD be charged with a felony. the things people tend to do with automobiles even when they're sober leads me to believe only 2% of the idiots on the road have ever read a complete sentence let alone passed a fucking driving test. then you add on their rage because they have little dicks or what the fuck ever their problems are and not caring that the person in that car they are trying to run off the road has children (possibly even in the back seat) and i say charges of attempted murder are in order. but that's just me...

[dogday]

16. Oops, there goes his Habeas Corpus.....

terrorist=no rights.....

[Deja Q]

17. SUV driver shoots someone because he was cut off = terrorism?

Good.

SUVs are horrible and most of their drivers have no sense as to how to drive.

Plus shooting at somebody is pretty dumb too. Even in Minnesota where we have conceal and carry laws.

Terrorism | Ter"ror*ism |
n. Cf. F. terrorisme.

1. The act of terrorizing, or state of being terrorized

2. The practise of coercing governments to accede to
political demands by committing violence on civilian
targets; any similar use of violence to achieve goals.

Option #1 sounds legit. Going around threatening people and shooting at them with weapons while drunk and enraged would terrorize most people. Except Superman, but he's a fictional character.