Yes. The legal code is so byzantine that most citizens (and most visitors) are permanently in breach somehow, somewhere: an error in some form you filed, a permit you didn't know you needed, a clause that's very rarely enforced, a law worded vaguely that can be made to fit.
This is the origin of the cliche "to throw the book at someone" - to threaten or exact retribution, by hunting for all the ways they are breaking the law, related to the original arrest or not. It is also why the advice is not to speak to police voluntarily.
Fortunately for most folks the US is a mostly benign state (which is why exceptions are somewhat notable). But this is not a unique US issue. It is only a change of intent away from the widespread persecution of political opponents.
As long as most of us believe a 'political enemy' is our enemy too (like those evil hackers), the state is free to throw the book where it pleases with public indifference or even support.
Yes. The legal code is so byzantine that most citizens (and most visitors) are permanently in breach somehow, somewhere: an error in some form you filed, a permit you didn't know you needed, a clause that's very rarely enforced, a law worded vaguely that can be made to fit.
This is the origin of the cliche "to throw the book at someone" - to threaten or exact retribution, by hunting for all the ways they are breaking the law, related to the original arrest or not. It is also why the advice is not to speak to police voluntarily.
Fortunately for most folks the US is a mostly benign state (which is why exceptions are somewhat notable). But this is not a unique US issue. It is only a change of intent away from the widespread persecution of political opponents.
As long as most of us believe a 'political enemy' is our enemy too (like those evil hackers), the state is free to throw the book where it pleases with public indifference or even support.