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I think you can go too far in that direction though. This guy was getting material to make chemical weapons, literature from a terrorist organization, was caught numerous times carrying weapons, and had been expelled from school for violence. How many bright red flags need to be waved before the government is allowed to do something about this guy? Or does “rule of law” mean we have to let people openly plan terrorist acts and let them kill people and terrorize the public, because to do otherwise violates procedures? I think even if you had to make up an excuse for a 48 hold for psychiatric evaluation, it probably would have allowed the police to investigate and find evidence.
I’m of the school of thought that without Justice and safety, nothing else matters. We’re so deep into anarchy-tyranny that the public is now being trained on how to behave when Theres a mass casualty event in a public place. We’re chewing through what’s left of the high trust society we used to have as more and more things get locked up because of theft and people are more worried about security when going out in public. The government only seems to be able to act when the usually law-abiding citizens complain or try to do something about it. If such things continue down this path, there won’t be a society to protect. King Charles’ grandkids might well rule over a country full of uncontrolled knife gangs. America might be full of cartels and mafiosi. Unless crime is actually to be curbed, by law or by the police simply taking control, you might end up there.
Sure, 'planning a terrorist attack' should be a crime, and probably is(especially in Britain). Did this guy have probable cause on it, though? Like he'd been caught for carrying weapons, but I'm imagining that minor knife violations are mostly associated with people who live in the ghetto, not Al Qaeda. Was he caught with ricin and terrorist materials or did that stuff get found after he was searched, later?
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