Two people have been charged with a felony for using flour and chalk to mark a trail through a parking lot to direct runners. For those who don’t know what a felony is, and on what category this pair is being charged, here’s a helpful description from Wikipedia:
Crimes commonly considered to be felonies include, but are not limited to: aggravated assault and/or battery, arson, burglary, some instances of drug possession (dependent on the jurisdiction, often possession over a certain weight, based on the type of drug, is held to indicate intent to sell or distribute), embezzlement, grand theft, treason, espionage, racketeering, robbery, murder, rape, kidnapping, cannabis cultivation and fraud. A third offense for driving under the influence is also a felony in most states.
So treason, arson, murder and rape. Boy these people take their parking lots seriously.
But wait, let’s hear the explanation for the overreacting authorities:
You see powder connected by arrows and chalk, you never know,” she said. “It could be a terrorist, it could be something more serious. We’re thankful it wasn’t, but there were a lot of resources that went into figuring that out.”
Here’s the original new item along with Bruce Schneier’s comments.