Actions that Constitute Material Support

Introduction

Material support is defined by Penal Code 2339B, as the assistance of the nature that aids a criminal perform heinous acts of crime (Gurulé, 2010). Such assistance is often in the most common way, collusion. Collusion involves two or more people plotting to perform a criminal scheme, where one of the involved parties takes the role of a silent partner. While collusion is not a crime, it can be considered so, if the criminal intent from the committed atrocity is as a result of the very collusion. Material support also comes in the form of financial aid. This is where a person knowingly assists a criminal to perform a crime by aiding them with the financial assistance to acquire the tools used in the criminal act. Financial support is especially considered a capital crime where an American citizen funds a foreign terror organization that ends up committing criminal and terrorist acts on American soil (Gurulé, 2010).

Conclusion

When a criminal act is being investigated, the damage to property or loss of live is considered the major felony being investigated. A person who aids this atrocity is any way is considered a federal offender. Homicides for instance take place when someone murders in cold blood. The trail of the murder may lead to persons who were aware of the intent to commit the crime but failed to report the same. Such persons are said to have aided and abated the criminal. Although they do not offer any support, they can be charged with material support, based on the contact they had with the criminal. Aiding crime and offering material support could also be in the way of obstructing justice by misleading investigators. This is why, criminal depositions are considered evidence-gathering occasions and indeed, legal proceedings can be filed against those who lie in such depositions (Bethlehem, 2012).

References

Bethlehem, D. (2012). Self-defense against an imminent or actual armed attack by nonstate actors. American Journal of International Law, 106(4), 769-777.

Gurulé, J. (2010). Unfunding terror: the legal response to the financing of global terrorism. Edward Elgar Publishing.