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We are writing a short book on how activists can fight against destructive governance...something like Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals.

But this book does recommend some specific illegal acts, such as tagging, hacking, or even sugaring gas tanks (of construction equipment building a border wall, for example).

Are we, therefore, guilty of a crime...by recommending illegal action as a method of protesting a presidency? Do precedents exist for this?

Obviously, our country's founding documents loosely endorse this in spirit...but that hardly makes it legal.

"When it the course of human events, any form of government becomes destructive...it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it."

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    Isn't this question about politics or law? – Eff Jul 25 '18 at 12:01
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    "building a border wall" "presidency" "our country's founding documents" Are you interested in answers relating to the United States of America? – user Jul 25 '18 at 13:11
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    This would vary enormously with jurisdiction. – Chenmunka Jul 25 '18 at 13:19
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    I'm fairly sure that inciting violence is a crime in a large portion of nations! As for other crimes I'd be surprised if there wasn't laws against that too – GordonM Jul 25 '18 at 13:51
  • This would seem more appropriate for law.stackexchange.com.. It has nothing to do with actual writing, but is about legal consequences. – David Thornley Jul 26 '18 at 19:39
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If its not now, it can be can made to be.

I'd advise against explicit advice and more discuss theoretical options and their benefits and drawbacks.

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  • I'm not sure where the author lives, but if they live in the United States, as I suspect, they can advocate committing crimes as much as they want, with (little) fear of legal punishment. Obviously, depending on their ideas and position, they might still face social ostracism, losing their job, or even investigation or harassment by law enforcement, but they're not committing a crime, and odds are very good they won't be fined or imprisoned for it. – Obie 2.0 Jan 1 '19 at 18:16
  • In the specific context of the current US administration, it's perfectly legal even to call for Trump to be assassinated. For instance, Maria Chappelle Nadal, a US state representative, called for the president to be assassinated, and she wasn't subject to prosecution. Similarly for Carol Cook, an actor who said something similar. Calling for tagging or hacking would be even more defensible. Obviously, if you do it yourself or tell other people to do it, you're in trouble. But a book? Nah. – Obie 2.0 Jan 1 '19 at 18:24
  • And, again at least in the US context, while the law on this certainly could be changed after the book is published, by that point they're ignoring freedom of speech and the prohibition on ex post facto laws, so not explicitly advocating for illegal acts probably wouldn't keep one safe. – Obie 2.0 Jan 1 '19 at 18:27
  • Though, clearly, a modicum of caution can't hurt. On the other hand (while I don't advocate the methods the poster mentions), being straightforward will help reinforce to society that this is protected speech. – Obie 2.0 Jan 1 '19 at 18:35

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