If a rancher told two hunters to kill any tresspassers that they came across or if they didn’t want to, then to at least notify the rancher so that he could do so, would this be a crime? Would it be a crime not to notify law enforcement of the said threats? If this rancher actually ended up killing some tresspassers in the future, could the people that he asked to kill tresspassers or to notify him to kill tresspassers be held accountable for a crime? If so, what crimes? Would not taking the rancher seriously even if he didn’t indicate that it was all a joke be a defence against any of these crimes? If the rancher was in fact not serious and just blowing hot air, would it still be a crime or as severe a crime?
Somehow, this one just doesn’t sound hypothetical.
So, I"m closing it.
I suggest if you have a real-life question about this, a session with a lawyer in your state would be in order. Message board lawyers are just that. (This is NOT to imply that our real-life lawyer-members aren’t great lawyers. Just that they would advise you to do essentially the same thing.)
samclem