# Why can't I say "I am going to kill the President"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591 "2005-07-22T04:08:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DuhCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@DuhCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DuhCow)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/1 "2005-07-22T04:08:25Z")
To begin with, please note that I do not plan to kill the President nor do I encourage anyone to do so, regardless of your opinion of his politics. But why is it illegal to say you want to? Does it actually provide any protection? In the long history of political assassinations, has it ever been said, “Oh! We could’ve stopped him if only we were allowed to arrest him when he announced it!” Wouldn’t actually _conspiring_ to do so already be covered under other laws, as would announcing, “I will give a million dollars to whoever kills the President.” I believe that it’s a useless law, because the only people who would go around saying it would be cranks who wouldn’t actually go through with it. Furthermore, like all laws regulating speech, it can be twisted to absurdity. Is it illegal to say, “I am going to kill the President yesterday.” What about, “I am going to shoot President Abraham Lincoln in the head on the night of April 14, 1865 at Ford’s Theater.” Why can’t it be said in a joking manner? Is it even legal for me to be asking this? As a final example, please read the following story: [http://www.seanbaby.com/cleveland/part3.html](http://www.seanbaby.com/cleveland/part3.html) That is all, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/2 "2005-07-22T04:33:45Z")
Just more proof some folks should leave comedy to the pros. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/3 "2005-07-22T04:37:37Z")
Speculation: The Secret Service is in charge of investigating threats to the President’s life (among other activities). If threats were legal, the Secret Service would be forced to waste a lot of time. I suppose they could ignore all threats on the President’s life, and just focus on guard duty. But that doesn’t seem sensible. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/4 "2005-07-22T09:57:51Z")
You can say whatever you want. The problem is, your words can have consequences. The phrase “I want to kill the president” buys you a free trip from the SS. If they determine you’re joking or not serious they’ll leave without harming you, arresting you, or so forth. They are obligated to investigate ALL instances of _possible_ threat in order to separate real threats from non-real. Most of the time, the “threats” aren’t serious, but there only needs to be one successful person with malicious intent to cause a lot of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![lhovis73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecd19e/32.png) [@lhovis73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lhovis73)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/5 "2005-07-22T10:52:05Z")
This question is related to the problem of “why can’t I say ‘bomb’ on an airplane’”? (See the last ten minutes of _Meet the Parents_ for a fictional illustration of what might happen if you do this.) Which leads naturally to the question of “what might happen if I said, on an airplane, ‘I wish I had a bomb, because then I could go to DC and kill the president with it’?” In both cases (“bomb” on airplane, “kill” president), I wonder if we’re talking about a risk of getting arrested or detained simply by uttering a certain set of magic words, or are Secret Service personnel or airport security allowed to use their judgments and ignore certain statements, if, in context, the words were obviously meant innocently? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/6 "2005-07-22T11:25:28Z")
> [@lhovis73](#): > > In both cases (“bomb” on airplane, “kill” president), I wonder if we’re talking about a risk of getting arrested or detained simply by uttering a certain set of magic words, or are Secret Service personnel or airport security allowed to use their judgments and ignore certain statements, if, in context, the words were obviously meant innocently? An airport security guard once told me that she was required to take all comments seriously, even if they were obviously jokes. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/7 "2005-07-22T11:33:30Z")
Because everyone will think Vincent Ludwig from **The Naked Gun** had programmed you as a hit zombie, and no one wants _that_. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/8 "2005-07-22T13:53:07Z")
> [@DuhCow](#): > > I believe that it’s a useless law, because the only people who would go around saying it would be cranks who wouldn’t actually go through with it. Take a look at the history of political assassins and wannabe’s in the U.S. John Hinckley Squeaky Frome Sarah Jane Moore Arthur Bremmer Sirhan Sirhan Lee Harvey Oswald 1. They were cranks 2. They did actually go through with it. ---
**Author:** ![lhovis73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecd19e/32.png) [@lhovis73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lhovis73)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/9 "2005-07-22T14:08:13Z")
I’m not sure what your point is here, kunilou. Yes, these cranks did go through with it…but these are not (as far as I know, tell me if I’m wrong) cases (a) where certain nut-jobs were advertising to the world that they intended to kill the president, (b) no one took them seriously, and © an assassination (or assassination attempt) happened as a result of neglecting obvious warning signs. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/10 "2005-07-22T14:19:43Z")
This seems as good a place as any to ask: what about languages where the word “bomb” and “pump” is the same? Like, say, I’m a bicycler, and I’m talking about how I have my “bomba” in my luggage. Or I’m a fireman, so I say I’m a “bombero.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/11 "2005-07-22T15:25:45Z")
Well, in practical terms, claiming you were joking or that you’re exercising your First Amendment rights is probably going to have little impact on the Secret Service agent or airport security staffer who really really _really_ doesn’t want to go down in history as the guy who shrugged off the claims of an assassin/bomber. In addition to kunilou’s crank list, I’ve no doubt there are thousands of mentally ill (or just seriously pissed-off) people who have spoken or written threats against the Prez and on whom the Secret Service have files. I don’t find this particularly shocking or inappropriate. Frankly, if you’re willing to say out loud that you’d like to kill the president, why is it unfair that someone else will make a note of your utterance? If you say out loud that you’d like to kill your neighbor, how is that different? I recommend U.E. Baughman’s autobiography _Secret Service Chief_. UEB was head of the service from 1944-1962 (thus he _didn’t_ go down in history as the guy who was on duty when Kennedy was killed, though he was in charge the day two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to get Truman). The book is written in a rather sanitized, flag-waving manner (thus no mention of Kennedy’s hookers), but the chapter titled “Dangerous Cranks” is downright scary, as is the opening chapter, “A Puff of Smoke”, about a tense moment during Kennedy’s swearing-in when there was a chance the wooden bandstand would go up in flames, killing Kennedy, Johnson, Eisenhower, Nixon, members of the Supreme Court, senior members of Congress, etc. Basically, the life of an agent consists of training and praying _please, Lord, not on my shift_ until the moment all hell breaks loose. It’s unreasonable to fault them for being cautious. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/12 "2005-07-22T15:38:57Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > This seems as good a place as any to ask: what about languages where the word “bomb” and “pump” is the same? Like, say, I’m a bicycler, and I’m talking about how I have my “bomba” in my luggage. Or I’m a fireman, so I say I’m a “bombero.” Or my bomber jacket, come to think of it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/13 "2005-07-22T16:13:05Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Or my bomber jacket, come to think of it. Start referring to it as your bomber hi-jacket for double points. ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/14 "2005-07-22T16:57:02Z")
How about just avoiding certain terms in certain situations. Is it really that hard? ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/15 "2005-07-22T18:10:20Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > An airport security guard once told me that she was required to take all comments seriously, even if they were obviously jokes. Jack:" Hey, there’s bob. Hi Bob!" Bob: "Hi Jack!"_Bob is wrestled to the ground by airport security_ ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/16 "2005-07-23T18:09:12Z")
Or what if this middle-eastern student is on the cell with this other student while in the security line in a US airport. Student not at airport: ‘I can’t believe you didn’t prepare for your presentation. We’re all doing a good job on our projects to set a precedent for the next class.’ Student at airport, right as he walks up to the security, about to hang up: ‘I’m about to kill your precedent after bombing this.’ > [@](#): > > Just more proof some folks should leave comedy to the pros. Oh shut up ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/17 "2005-07-23T18:23:06Z")
Lots of airports have TVs around so that people waiting for their flights can keep up to date on the news. Right after the first London bombings a few weeks ago, I was at the airport waiting for a friend, and the TVs were talking about the incident. And so was nearly everyone around me. The word “bomb” was flying around all over the place as people discussed what had happened. How can security deal with something like that? I didn’t witness any arrests that day, and nobody that I could see was being told to change their topic of conversation. Is it ok in the airport but not on the plane? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/18 "2005-07-23T18:45:15Z")
I can’t remember the details, but there was an incident a couple of years ago when someone walked into the cockpit of a plane parked at the gate and said, “Hi, Jack.” Apparently the control tower was listening and thought that someone was talking about a hijack situation. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/19 "2005-07-23T18:49:01Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > 1. They were cranks > > 2. They did actually go through with it. To the best of my knowledge (and I’m willing to be proved wrong) none of them went around advertising their plans. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591/20 "2005-07-23T18:50:11Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] In addition to kunilou’s crank list, I’ve no doubt there are thousands of mentally ill (or just seriously pissed-off) people who have spoken or written threats against the Prez and on whom the Secret Service have files. I don’t find this particularly shocking or inappropriate. Frankly, if you’re willing to say out loud that you’d like to kill the president, why is it unfair that someone else will make a note of your utterance? If you say out loud that you’d like to kill your neighbor, how is that different? I recommend U.E. Baughman’s autobiography _Secret Service Chief_. UEB was head of the service from 1944-1962 (thus he _didn’t_ go down in history as the guy who was on duty when Kennedy was killed, though he was in charge the day two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to get Truman). As you probably know, the SS does in fact have a file of every threat made against the President in the last-oh 40 years. From what I have read, it contains hundreds of thousands of entries. Is it effective? Well, I imagine it is partially effective-but proving it is proving a negative. When the President visits a location, the SS pulls it’s files on all the threats in that area and those folks might get a visit from the SS or the local police. Does that discourage people? Well, few if any of those folks attempt to attack the President so it may. I read UEB’s book. Most of the stories were interesting-a few were very very frightening. I would not have wanted to be that last agent at the foot of the stairs in the Blair house when the Puerto Rican nationalists attacked. He was the last line of defense and had to stand there listening while his fellow guards were being attacked and killed by the nationalists. Fortunately none of the attackers got that far into the building, but they came close. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-say-i-am-going-to-kill-the-president/313591.md?page=2)