30-year sentence for transporting zines is a five-alarm fire for free speech • Hacker News Board

Re: 30-year sentence for transporting zines is a five-alarm fire for free speech

#271

Post by alterom » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:13 AM UTC

bawolff wrote: post #171

jeffbee wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but I think the question is whether his actions did in fact obstruct justice. Both are relevant.

I don't know that i agree. If you intend to commit a crime but due to circumstances beyond your knowladge your actions did not amount to the crime even though you intended them to, i think that is still a crime.

>your actions didn't amount to a crime

>it is still a crime

Pardon me, but effin what?

Ah yes. There's a word for it.

You're literally calling for prosecuting thoughtcrimes.

Good job, making Orwell proud.

Re: 30-year sentence for transporting zines is a five-alarm fire for free speech

#272

Post by cwnyth » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:14 AM UTC

Auracle wrote: post #196

AdieuToLogic wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't disagree, but our justice system is absolutely rife with unequal sentences. That doesn't make it right, but it doesn't mean we should go crazy over an individual instance of it ... Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.[0] 0 - https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/martin_luther_king_jr_122...

Again, I don't disagree, I'm just stating it should be a broader discussion. When you pick and choose individual cases (especially political ones...) people lose the forest for the trees.

I disagree. Time and time again, it's been shown that people are more moved by a single emotional instance, not the broader statistics. Not everyone has a mind for numbers or scale. What can actually inspire change in them if not a single representation of the problem? Classically, effective rhetoric needed pathos in addition to logos. There is no problem in zooming in on this one instance (especially if it's effective in fixing the larger problem).

Re: 30-year sentence for transporting zines is a five-alarm fire for free speech

#273

Post by vkou » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:14 AM UTC

will4274 wrote: post #92

Ukv wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The 30 year sentence was for hiding documentation [...] it wasn't just "transporting Zines" As far as I can tell, the moving of zines (he was pulled over and had a box in his car) is what's being presented as "hiding documentation" - not something beyond that. > being sought under a federal warrant Timeline seems to be that a warrant was obtained after pulling him over ("Sanchez-Estrada was then arrested on state t…

Being aware that he was moving the zines to obstruct a federal felony investigation is surely relevant. Intent is an important aspect of crime.

The federal felony investigation was for a protest where one asshole shot a gun, and the others, who didn't, got 70 years in prison. There is no world where this isn't completely fucking insane. There is no need to whitewash this.

(Meanwhile, the Jan 6 insurrectionists, who were a credible threat to the peaceful transfer of power - the foundation of democracy - were all pardoned. By the guy who sent them there.)

Re: 30-year sentence for transporting zines is a five-alarm fire for free speech

#274

Post by mindslight » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:14 AM UTC

glitch003 wrote: post #114

axus wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I were transporting copies of this magazine, am I concealing evidence? What is special about this guy? Is there anything he could have legally transported, or is everything she's written banned? The irony of The Intercept requiring my identity is funny.

she called her husband, from jail, and asked him to move them so they couldn't be used in court against her. she said "do whatever you have to do". the cops listened to the phone call, watched him load them into the car and arrested him on the drive. i think it's pretty straightforward that she was asking for his help in obstructing the investigation by hiding potential evidence against her.

Lawful investigation and prosecution would of course not hinge upon the contents of political publications. As such, any obstruction was purely aimed at the inevitable two minute hate by the addled autocrat about how antifa is hiding everywhere, making his coffee too cold and his food not taste as good as it used to.

Re: 30-year sentence for transporting zines is a five-alarm fire for free speech

#275

Post by s1artibartfast » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC

stevenwoo wrote: post #159

expedition32 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chilling effect on demonstrations. If you attend one were someone starts shooting you become an accomplice. And ofcourse this also leaves the door open for a "false flag" incident.

Unless one is a right wing protestor like Kyle Rittenhouse.

Still dont see how people could have watched the videos and not seen a clear self defense angle.

Re: 30-year sentence for transporting zines is a five-alarm fire for free speech

#276

Post by supertroop » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:17 AM UTC

laughing_man wrote: post #263

expedition32 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chilling effect on demonstrations. If you attend one were someone starts shooting you become an accomplice. And ofcourse this also leaves the door open for a "false flag" incident.

[flagged]

Stop conflating two different unrelated events. It is nauseating.

Re: 30-year sentence for transporting zines is a five-alarm fire for free speech

#277

Post by Manuel_D » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:17 AM UTC

ipython wrote: post #74

joe_mamba wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

No the jan6 rioters just used poles and batons and such to beat the shit out of police- some who died afterward. https://youtu.be/DXnHIJkZZAs?si=zDKJcly9KMBY_GgJ I mean - seriously? It’s ok to do this?

It's shameful how the Jan 6th rioters went unpunished (well, had their punishment cut short), but it's also not good to repeat false claims. Brian Sicknick died of a stroke the next day, but the medical examiner determined that this was not caused by Sicknick being pepper sprayed the previous day: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/us/politics/brian-sicknic...

The other four police officers said to have been killed in this root committed suicide over the next several months, which really cannot be attributed to the riot in an intellectually honest way. Imagine if someone said "BLM murdered dozens of cops" and then listed the suicide of every cop that had some interaction with BLM and committed suicide 6+ months afterwards.

This isn't to minimize the crimes of Jan 6th rioters and their attempt to overturn an election, but it's still best not to repeat false claims.

Re: 30-year sentence for transporting zines is a five-alarm fire for free speech

#278

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:18 AM UTC

JuniperMesos wrote: post #270

ipython wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Btw - > If you want to concede that it's fascist to want violent criminals prosecuted, I believe it is fascist to bring trumped up charges for ridiculousness. Say for example the case of “sandwich guy” who the DoJ spent three attempts at a grand jury to bring federal charges. For throwing a fully loaded Subway sandwich at a kitted out ICE officer. Started by sending a full swat team of twenty armed agents to his apar…

[flagged]

[deleted]

Re: 30-year sentence for transporting zines is a five-alarm fire for free speech

#279

Post by supertroop » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:18 AM UTC

snvzz wrote: post #244

dwroberts wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If this was an incident in Europe, comments like this would be talking about how clearly the state is corrupt, it’s account cannot be trusted, and obviously civilisation is collapsing because free speech outside of the US is dead. “You can be arrested for zines!” Inside the US though? No, clearly the state’s account is definitely accurate , the citizen is obviously guilty, it’s not only correct they are being jailed…

[flagged]

I agree but trump pardoned 1600 of them! Sucks? I agree.

Re: 30-year sentence for transporting zines is a five-alarm fire for free speech

#280

Post by supertroop » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:19 AM UTC

Auracle wrote: post #191

anigbrowl wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The different scale of intention was to overturn the results of a federal general election, effectively a coup to seize back control over the government. I can see why you consider the incident in Texas to be terrorism, but you want to ignore the entire point of the J6 event and pretend it was just some normal event where a few participants got a little out of hand? Get real.

Alright, so all of these die hard Republicans had a plan to do a coup...and none of them brought guns to the actual coup? Really? It was stupid for many reasons, but it was a riot, not some preplanned ambush with weapons like is being talked about in the OP.

My god why are you so willfully ignorant of the fact that guns were present. Just stop talking if you’re going to play dumb or are dumb.