In Matthew’s case, an agent in the pay of the FBI tried to get Matthew to agree to commit a murder but he steadfastly refused to be a party to any such act. So, whereas Weaver did alter the shotgun, Matthew did not become part of a fictional murder plot. In other words, there was no crime at all involved in Matthew Hale’s “trial,” and thus, no conviction should have obtained.
Nonetheless, Matthew was “convicted” of this non-crime but why did he receive such an egregious sentence? Because of a misplaced apostrophe in the trial transcript of Matthew’s conversation with the paid federal stooge. That clerical error allowed the government to claim that the fictional “victim” of this fictional “crime” was a federal judge. And as a federal officer was the supposed victim, Matthew could be sentenced under our “supra-constitutional” anti-terrorism acts.