It’s not that the websites Sami Omar Al-Hussayen maintained didn’t contain pro-terror sentiments; it’s that he didn’t have much to do with them, and anyway they’re constitutionally protected speech. Constitutionally protected speech? Really?
From AP:
Al-Hussayen set up and ran Web sites that prosecutors said were used to recruit terrorists, raise money and disseminate inflammatory rhetoric. They said the sites included religious edicts justifying suicide bombings and an invitation to contribute financially to the militant Palestinian organization Hamas.
Al-Hussayen’s attorneys argued that he had little to do with the creation of the material posted. And they said the material was protected by the First Amendment right to freedom of expression and was not designed to raise money or recruit extremists.
Well, maybe there wasn’t a sign-up sheet, but what exactly constitutes recruitment? If it isn’t recruitment to include material justifying suicide bombings and contribute money, what is?