Max Specktor

The charges that will be brought against the RNC Eight highlight the legal questions surrounding the nature of conspiracy, including a logic that legal experts say draws “perilously close” to prosecuting people for thought crimes.

The RNC Eight, accused of a criminal conspiracy to wreak chaos during the Republican National Convention, are unlikely to go on trial for at least another six months. But the battle to shape public opinion on the high-profile case has been taking place since the moment of their arrests on the eve of the St. Paul convention in early September. At a hearing Tuesday, the judge said she ‘won’t tolerate any games’ by the prosecution or defense.