I recently read a news story out of Buffalo, NY about a 17 year-old being charged for conspiracy, criminal nuisance, and disorderly conduct for posting an event on Facebook that invited people to assemble at the Millennium Hotel in Cheektowaga, NY. The reporter called the planned event a “flash mob,” but given that the article said that organizer’s “intent was to cause damage and create chaos,” I doubt that this was a plan constituted a real flash mob. It sounds like an invitation to commit a crime such as disorderly conduct or rioting. I could not find the event on Facebook, so I can’t say for certain what the planned activity was.
Either way the lesson is the same: If you plan an event which involves a crime, you’re asking to be charged with conspiracy and solicitation. Even if you only meant to do something fun, you could still be charged. Even if you cancel the event and nothing bad happens, you could still be charged. Let’s look at what it takes to get charged with each crime.
Conspiracy
In Arizona, you need three things to be commit conspiracy:
- Two or more people,
- A plan between them that involves committing a crime, and
- One overt action in furtherance of that crime, even if that act is not a crime.
So if you and your friend planned to kill someone and one of you bought a shovel to bury the body, you could be charged with conspiracy. Likewise, if your plan was more innocent, like planning a pillow fight where the rules say you can hit anyone in the vicinity with your pillow whether they have a pillow or not and you buy a new pillow for the event, that could also be conspiracy.
Solicitation
It’s also very easy to commit solicitation in Arizona. All you have to do is ask or encourage someone to commit a crime. Even if the person declines the invitation, it’s still solicitation. Asking someone to kill your spouse, regardless of their answer, is solicitation. Likewise, inviting people to participate in a prank that involves touching people in any way without their consent might be solicitation to commit assault. Putting up a Facebook event and making it public could be enough for a solicitation charge.
These types of crimes are easy to commit, especially if you don’t realize that what you’re planning to do is illegal. Your ignorance of the law will generally not protect you from the consequences of your actions. It’s because of this that it’s imperative that you contact a flash mob attorney (like me) when you are beginning to plan your event. Even if the illegality of your event is brought to your attention and you cancel it before anything bad happens, you could still face serious criminal charges.
If you want to know more about committing conspiracy and solicitation by planning a flash mob, I made a video about it. You can also view it here.
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