# Air America gunshot joke a crime? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 28, 2005, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508 "2005-04-28T06:57:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/1 "2005-04-28T06:57:35Z")
\*The red-hot rhetoric over Social Security on liberal talkradio network AIR AMERICA has caught the attention of the Secret Service, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. Government officials are reviewing a skit which aired on the network Monday evening – a skit featuring an apparent gunshot warning to the president! The announcer: “A spoiled child is telling us our Social Security isn’t safe anymore, so he is going to fix it for us. Well, here’s your answer, you ungrateful whelp: (audio sound of 4 gunshots being fired.) Just try it, you little bastard. (audio of gun being cocked).” “ **Even joking about shooting the president is a crime** , let alone doing it on national radio… we are taking this very seriously,” a government source explained. \* Sure, it’s in bad taste, and I realize that such jokes require investigation by the Secret Service but is the mere telling of the joke a crime in itself? ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/2 "2005-04-28T06:58:55Z")
Sorry, here’s the [link](http://www.drudgereport.com/mattabt.htm) for the OP. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/3 "2005-04-28T07:20:23Z")
I don’t see “the President” or “President Bush” mentioned in the excerpt, do you? That said, I fully expect the right-wing spin machine to try and make a mountain out of this molehill. ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/4 "2005-04-28T09:31:17Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > I don’t see “the President” or “President Bush” mentioned in the excerpt, do you? Are you the slightest bit uncertain about who’s being referred to? Is there a legal difference between saying “I want to shoot the President” and “I want to shoot the Commander in Chimp”? What if you say “I want to give the President a lead salad”? You haven’t said you’re going to _shoot_ him, after all. How vague does one have to be to appreciably change the nature of the sentence, from a legal standpoint? > [@](#): > > That said, I fully expect the right-wing spin machine to try and make a mountain out of this molehill. If only the OP had asked… ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/5 "2005-04-28T09:49:32Z")
This reminds me of the girl in an airport who when asked the contents of her bag replied, “A bomb”. It was a stupid joke to make but she was arrested by U.S. officials and put in jail pending her trial, I can’t find what the result of the trial was but [here’s a link](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/3412123.stm) to the original news story. So it seems that telling a joke about something so serious can be an offence even if there is no intention to carry it out. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/6 "2005-04-28T09:55:59Z")
After a bit more searching I found that she was originally facing 15 years in prison if found guilty of the charges she was arrested on but was released after promising to pay $1,000 to a fund for the families of 9/11 victims and writing a full letter of apology. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/7 "2005-04-28T10:20:45Z")
It’s the federal law that covers such an offence, if there is one, that interests me. Does anybody know the relevant statute? (I have no political axe to grind in the original question at all, which is why I’ve posted in General Questions.) ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/8 "2005-04-28T10:28:28Z")
FWIW in the case of Samantha Marson she was charged with “making a false bomb threat” and in a similar case the person was charged with “communicating false information” but neither of those would be applicable in your case. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/9 "2005-04-28T11:21:38Z")
If it was legal to joke about killing the president, then anyone who made a threat against him could get out of it by saying “Jeez, it was only a joke! Lighten up.” That might be why they won’t allow that sort of excuse. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/10 "2005-04-28T12:50:28Z")
I don’t think the joking itself is illegal, but it would be considered enough to launch an investigation to determine if it was a _threat_, which IS illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/11 "2005-04-28T13:03:16Z")
First things first: was the joke really done as described by Drudge? I’ve heard he’s not exactly the pantheon of journalistic accuracy. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/12 "2005-04-28T13:21:36Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > First things first: was the joke really done as described by Drudge? I’ve heard he’s not exactly the pantheon of journalistic accuracy. [http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/23522.htm](http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/23522.htm) > [@](#): > > April 28, 2005 – ALL-liberal Air America and talker Randi Rhodes apologized yesterday for a “bad taste” comedy bit in which President Bush was shot. {snip} > [@](#): > > “It was a bit. It was bad. I apologize a thousand times,” Rhodes told listeners yesterday on WLIB (1190 AM), adding: “I’m not in charge of the bits.” > > “Our normal vetting process failed . . . and we regret it,” Air America’s Jon Sinton told The Post {snip} > [@](#): > > Secret Service spokesperson Lorie Lewis told The Post that "if we determine that questions need to be asked, we will attempt to get them answered, but at this point we have not made any inquiries to anyone connected with the show ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/13 "2005-04-28T13:23:31Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > I don’t see “the President” or “President Bush” mentioned in the excerpt, do you? Which of course makes it curious that Rhodes and Air America apologized for anything if it’s really not about Bush… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/14 "2005-04-28T13:28:17Z")
Tempest in a teapot. If it is illegal, then the Secret Service would be derelict in their duty if they do not prosecute. I will wager anyone that this is never successfully prosecuted. Anyone? Anyone? Bricker? ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/15 "2005-04-28T13:31:39Z")
It’s good to see that Liberal talk radio hasn’t taken very long to sink to a lower level than Conservative talk radio. This is far more outragious an example of a joke in bad taste than Rush Limbaugh’s famous “Chelsea Clinton / White House dog” joke. That was what, a decade ago? Liberals still gleefully point to it as an example whenever Rush comes up on the boards. This Air America situation is actually worse for a couple reasons. Firstly, the subject matter is much more serious and offensive. They are talking about killing the POTUS. That’s not funny, and it’s offensive. Secondly, this was a planned bit. It was created, and edited, and listenned to, and aired. This makes it much worse than simply saying something bad off the top of your head during a monologue, as Rush did. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/16 "2005-04-28T14:04:02Z")
I agree that Air America has sunk really low. But I must point out that Rush’s reference to Chelsea as the ‘White House dog’ was _not_ an adlibbed crack – it was on his TV show, and it involved the use of a picture put onscreen by a technician. (I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve pointed this out to someone). And it wasn’t live, it was filmed and then aired. Threatening the president is definitely worse than saying he has an ugly daughter. But please quit trying to whitewash Rush by claiming things that aren’t true. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/17 "2005-04-28T14:12:48Z")
I don’t know: Jesse Helms told Clinton that he’d better bring a bodyguard if he ever visited North Carolina, a pretty clear threat to the President, but he was never prosecuted for it. My understanding is that this law isn’t regularly enforced. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/18 "2005-04-28T14:19:04Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > I don’t know: Jesse Helms told Clinton that he’d better bring a bodyguard if he ever visited North Carolina, a pretty clear threat to the President, but he was never prosecuted for it. My understanding is that this law isn’t regularly enforced. > > Daniel Helms WAS investigated (as are hundreds of similar episodes every year). ([example](http://www.680news.com/news/international/article.jsp?content=w041296A) ) I suspect (IANAL or in the Secret Service) that a the threat is not deemed “serious”, the Secret Service might issue some generic kind of “we’d rather you not do this” statement and that’s that. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/19 "2005-04-28T14:20:08Z")
Has anyone heard the clip in question? For what it’s worth, the [Randi Rhodes Show](http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/randirhodes/index.php) home page has an [audio clip](http://airamericaradio.com/layout.asp?baseurl=RandiRhodes/4-27-05/RandiRhodes.wma) of Randi talking about it (and apologizing) the following day. One interesting point is that if the Secret Service is really investigating her, they haven’t gotten around to contacting her directly. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508/20 "2005-04-28T14:26:08Z")
> [@beagledave](#): > > Helms WAS investigated. Thanks–I didn’t realize he was investigated on this (I heard about it when it happened, but that was years ago). Still, I agree with you that prosecution on this is unlikely. Daniel [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-america-gunshot-joke-a-crime/301508.md?page=2)