1. Summarize the circumstances of the case,explain how the threat in the case was a crime, and discuss.

Amerithrax (2001-2010)

Case Summary can be found athttp://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/anthrax-amerithrax

Background: Soon after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, letters laced with anthrax began appearing in the U.S. mail. Five Americans were killed and 17 were sickened in what became the worst biological attacks in U.S. history.

The ensuing investigation by the FBI and its partnerscode-named "Amerithrax"has been one of the largest and most complex in the history of law enforcement.

In August 2008, Department of Justice and FBI officials announced a breakthrough in the case and released documents and information showing that charges were about to be brought against Dr. Bruce Ivins, who took his own life before those charges could be filed. On February 19, 2010, the Justice Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service formally concluded the investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks and issued an Investigative Summary.

The Amerithrax Task Forcewhich consisted of roughly 25 to 30 full-time investigators from the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and other law enforcement agencies, as well as federal prosecutors from the District of Columbia and the Justice Department's Counterterrorism Sectionexpended hundreds of thousands of investigator work hours on this case. Their efforts involved more than 10,000 witness interviews on six different continents, the execution of 80 searches, and the recovery of more than 6,000 items of potential evidence during the course of the investigation. The case involved the issuance of more than 5,750 grand jury subpoenas and the collection of 5,730 environmental samples from 60 site locations. In addition, new scientific methods were developed that ultimately led to the break in the casemethods that could have a far-reaching impact on future investigations.

• Amerithrax letters can be found athttp://www.justice.gov/amerithrax/

2.Solan & Tiersma, Ch. 10, Threats https://1lib.us/book/990436/d1be4b

1. When is a threat become illegal and therefore a crime?List and explain several examples.
2. What constitutes a threat?
3. What is the difference between the speech acts of making a prediction and making a threat?
4. How are threats and predictions similar?
5. Discuss the Court's decision in this case in which there was a question whether the defendant had made a threat or a prediction.In a labor dispute during an election by workers to decide whether to join a union, the factory officials stated that unionization would lead to increased costs of doing business and intimated that as a result it might become necessary to close the plant.Was this a threat or was it a prediction? The Court ruled that it was not a threat to close the plant.How could the lawyer for the factory workers have argued that it was a threat?
6. What's the difference between the speech acts of a warning and a threat, both of which show the belief that the future event or state of affairs will be bad for the person being addressed?
7. How is the intent to intimidate particularly important in prosecuting hate crimes?Give an example and explain.
8. How are threats accomplished indirectly?
9. Discuss the difference between political hyperbole or political invective and threats.