>The founders of this country are rolling in their graves. Every part of this story.
Some of them were put in their graves, for similar reasons - treason is treason.
> All he did was go to another country and spread truthful information.
This is nearly a non-sequitur. Analogous to, "All he did was goto another country to take advantage of the lower age of consent," which is objectively true, but blatantly illegal.
>This is conspiracy? Is telling someone that a gun can kill now considered conspiracy to murder, too?
Yes, telling someone the whereabouts and function of a lethal weapon in the known context of a premeditated murder is obviously conspiracy.
>Is it really the stance of the US government that North Korea knew enough about cryptocurrency to hold a cryptocurrency conference, but that they wouldn’t have been capable of evading sanctions if not for this man speaking this sentence?
If the argument here is "how can the mouse be charged for moving the mountain," then that is excusing, trivializing, and absolving actions unduly. How little treason is too much? Just a couple national security secrets okay?
>And while I’m at it, free citizens should not have to ask permission from the government for where they are allowed to go. In free societies, if the other country lets you in you can go.
You actually do not need a passport to leave, or come back, from and to, the United States. You may find it isn't frictionless, however.
>We are not a free country. Half of a decade! Over 5% of his life, gone. Unbelievable.
I agree, he shouldn't be locked up. He should had been sentenced to hanging, from the neck.