It is not often that people are accused of committing treason against the United States, but it certainly can and does happen. One type of crime that is listed under this general umbrella is a seditious conspiracy. It has to involve two or more people who are all working together toward their end goal.
If you’ve been accused of being involved in a seditious conspiracy, even if you haven’t carried out the actions that you were planning, it’s very important to know exactly what this means.
Working against the authority of the country
Essentially, a seditious conspiracy is when multiple people conspire to work against the authority of the United States government. A few examples of ways that they may do this include:
- Conspiring to overthrow the government
- Working to destroy the U.S. government by force or attempting to put it down
- Opposing the authority that the government holds
- Attempting to prevent proper U.S. laws from being executed
- Attempting to delay or hinder the execution of those laws
- Attempting to take U.S. government property, potentially by force
One thing that makes a conspiracy unique is that you may not have to actually do the things listed above to be accused of participating in the conspiracy itself. If you make a plan to take government property, for instance, and then you take some steps toward achieving that plan, you could face serious charges even if you never actually procure any of the property that you were interested in.
A case like this can result in decades behind bars and other very serious ramifications, so it’s critical for you to understand your defense options.