Creative armed robbery defense: Political asylum
Step 1: Rob bank. Step 2: Flee the country. Step 3: Claim political asylum because the robbery was a form of political protest. It’s creative, I have to grant you that. The theory is that Canadian law prohibits extradition for political crimes. Though it’s a strange defense to say “If I did it, it was politically motivated.” Isn’t the whole point of a political protest to openly admit to the crime and invite the authorities to arrest you? If you deny doing it, then it isn’t much of a political statement, now, is it? I mean, you don’t hear on the news, “A bomb exploded in ABC today. The radical group DEF said that if they were responsible, it was in retaliation for GHI.” (For more background, you can read a “the story so far” story from the Seattle Times.) In March, the others accused of being involved in the heist pled guilty to armed robbery, which definitely weakens the “We did it as a form of political protest” argument. And fleeing from house arrest while awaiting an extradition hearing certainly doesn’t help either.
Neither does running a stock scam.
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