Thread by @ClaireBerlinski

I'm actually unsure what the legal situation would be if something like this happened in the US. I mean, obviously, it wouldn't: The cops would kill him. But try to imagine a relevantly similar thing. france24.com/en/20190107-fr…

Is there any law, in the US, that says you can't start or contribute to a GoFundMe-style campaign to raise money for someone's legal bills? What if he's been accused of committing a vicious crime? I still can't see how it could be illegal. Disgusting, yes. Illegal, no. @aclu?

Soon, this particular suspect will be a convicted criminal. Then it might be possible to write a law that prohibits fundraising for him within US constitutional constraints. But I doubt it. I can donate to any number of disgusting criminals' legal funds with one click.

People are outraged and appalled by this fundraiser. Properly. If raising money to support a guy who kicks cops in the head isn't against the law, it ought to be, right?

And perhaps it is, or could be, within the confines of French constitutional law. But unless I'm missing something obvious, I can't really think of any way to write a law like that in the US.

Well, hold on: You can't donate your money to, say, ISIS. There's a law against that. So we do write laws that say, "No, there is an entity such that you're not free to give it money."

But how would you write a law that prohibits a US citizen from contributing to the legal defense of another US citizen, especially if he hasn't been convicted? You can't, right? It's just something you have to tolerate in a free society.

BTW, I don't know if that video shows it, but he also kicked a cop who had fallen to the ground--in the head.

Has anything like this ever come up in the US?

And isn't it remarkable that the cops didn't shoot him? For the folks back home who think violent insurrection against the French government is morally justified because the EU is a tyranny--really, think that one through.