More on Bic-Assassins

[John Young <jya@pipeline.com>]

Jim Choate:

What's the buzz in TX about the Bic-Assassins?

I spoke to a reporter at the Brownsville Herald who's
been covering the case and she says that local
folks think the men were entrapped by the government
with a sting.

Her story today and others previously at:

   http://www.brownsvilleherald.com

She sent me a copy of the indictment which cites a
confidential "source" which set up the E-mail system 
used to send threats to officials (the fink promised
the messages could not be traced - ouch!). The poor 
saps were videotaped throughout their planning 
and executing the threats, thanks to the informant's 
arrangements:

   http://jya.com/wge072198.htm

The informant is named in the court docket (which shows
that the defendants' attorneys put up a fierce fight
using First Amendment and other defenses discussed
here in regard to CJ):

   http://jya.com/usa-v-wise.htm

The judge's rulings favored the government consistently, 
though.

BTW, the prosecutor says that it made no difference that
nothing was ever done to act on the threats, no Bic-lighter
or bio-weapon was ever made, that it was enough under 
the law for the threat to have been made. "Justice was
done," he said of the conviction.