Basically this. He had intent to do harm, but there was really no point at all to selling him fake explosives in order to get him to try to be a terrorist (and hence be arrested for attempted mass murder).
It's entrapment because we don't put people in prison because they want to be a bad person. Prison is for criminals, people who actually commit crimes. He wouldn't have attempted to bomb the bank if the FBI didn't sell him explosives.
I mean, look at it this way; if he had contacted real terrorists, then his incompetence would've allowed the FBI to catch a handful more of them. What we have right now is just a juicy headline at the expense of an imbecile.
Do people not read my posts or something? I explained why its not entrapment, every other idiot who walks into the firm I worked at cries about how they've been entrapped, cries about double jeopardy or their Constitutional rights have been violated. That's almost never the case and attorneys rarely ever make that defense because it hard as hell and usually never applies anyway. People have weird conceptions of the law for some reason things like entrapment, double jeopardy, and insanity have permeated pop culture for a reason I don't quite understand (it sounds sexy?) but people's conceptions of what those entail are wrong.
Finally if we accept that entrapment is this broad notion then it effectively makes preventative policing impossible.
It's entrapment because we don't put people in prison because they want to be a bad person. Prison is for criminals, people who actually commit crimes. He wouldn't have attempted to bomb the bank if the FBI didn't sell him explosives.
This isn't quite true. We punish conspiracy, attempt and solicitation. Though at what point it becomes that is always questionable. Lets say I decide to kill my boss and form the intent in my head.
I drive to his house and wait outside. I get arrested but I have no weapons on me. Attempt?
I drive to the gun store and buy a gun. Then I go back home. I get arrested. Attempt?
I drive to the gun store, buy the gun, go to his house, and then I change my mind and as I'm turning my car to leave I get arrested. Attempt?
I drive to the gun store, buy a gun, and break into my bosses house at which point I get arrested, attempt?
I call a friend and ask for his help in killing my boss. He doesn't respond but neither does he call the police or attempt to dissuade me so I take his silence as affirmation at which point I gather the materials and get arrested. Conspiracy?
I call a friend and ask for his help in killing my boss. He says yes and assists me in gathering the materials. At which point he changes his mind and informs the police and I get arrested. Conspiracy?
I send a letter to a friend asking for help to kill my boss, but I accidentally sent it to someone else and my friend never see's it. Instead this other person see's it and informs the police and I get arrested. Solicitation?
Finally our situation. I contact my friend and ask for his help to kill my boss. He says yes and helps me gather the material. Unbeknownst to me he's an undercover cop and provides me with a faulty gun that doesn't fire. I get arrested. Conspiracy?
Entrapment is usually an impossible defense to establish. You would have to prove that the crime was something you would never have done without the government inducing it. There are basically 3 conditions (1) The idea for the crime came from the govt (2) The government induced or persuaded you into doing so (3) You were not willing to commit the crime before your contact with the govt. All 3 conditions need to be met for the entrapment defense. Like I said, usually impossible because it's hard as hell to establish (1) and (3)
In this case he was ready and willing to break the law while the FBI merely provided an opportunity to commit the crime. Therefore no entrapment. It's the same as when a govt agent goes and buys some coke at a drug meet as an undercover and then arrests everyone.
