Can you get sued or charged criminally for financing a group seeking to secede from the U.S. government?
<p>Can you get sued or charged criminally for financing a group seeking to secede from the U.S. government? Let's say there's this group in Hawaii that wants to secede from the U.S. and you decide to finance them, can the U.S. government charge you criminally for doing so, or is it within the rights of any American citizen to do so?</p>

<p>Supporting a secessionist movement is protected by the First Amendment. Terrorism, in the name of a secessionist movement or otherwise, or support of terrorism is a federal offense. See <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2339A" rel="noreferrer">18 USC 2339A</a> and <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2339B" rel="noreferrer">2339B</a>. The latter applies to foreign terrorist organizations, the former applies to to anything in violation of a specific list of crimes (§§32, 37, 81, 175, 229, 351, 831, 842(m) or (n), 844(f) or (i), 930(c), 956, 1091, 1114, 1116, 1203, 1361, 1362, 1363, 1366, 1751, 1992, 2155, 2156, 2280, 2281, 2332, 2332a, 2332b, 2332f, 2340A, 2442 of Title 18, and a few other things). Advocating secesion is not a crime, so supporting the advocacy of secession – in the US – is not a crime.</p>
<p>§2339B determines what terrorist-organization status via <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1189" rel="noreferrer">18 USC 1189</a>, which is basically a finding by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General that &quot;the organization threatens the security of United States nationals or the national security of the United States&quot;. <a href="https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/" rel="noreferrer">Here</a> is a current list.</p>
<p>Advocating the forceful overthrow of the US government or that of any state or lower political subdivision is a crime under <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2385" rel="noreferrer">18 USC 2385</a>, likewise
abetting, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of such overthrow.</p>

criminal-law secession