For The People (2018–…): Season 2, Episode 1 - First Inning - full transcript

A US Senator is killed as a result of a "swatting" call, and a slacker millennial creates a headache for both her parents and the public defender.

This is a battlefield.

On one side

is the United States
Attorney's Office.

On the other side
is the Federal Public Defender.

You are among the best
and the brightest attorneys

in this country.

You are passionate.
You are dedicated.

You are talented. You are
incredibly hard-working.

You handle the most difficult
and the most challenging cases

in the most prestigious,
highest profile trial court

in the country.



You're extraordinary advocates
and worthy adversaries.

You are The Defenders.
You are Justice.

And you come together
to fight on this battlefield.

And, honestly,
I'm really dreading it.

Really! I've been umping

in the New York Lawyers
Softball League for 11 years,

and this is the one game
of the season

that I do not look forward to.

Because... you... stink.

Thank you, Judge.

Really appreciate that,
Your Honor.

Okay. Great.

Now let's play ball!

Let's play ball!



What inning is it? I lost count.

First inning. Really?

You guys are terrible.

Yes, that is true,
but, I mean, we're having fun.

And... And who ever thought
that was possible, you know?

Prosecutors, defenders.
Dogs, cats. Sharks and Jets.

Gryffindors and Slytherins...
Yeah, I got it.

Because you were just staring...
I got it.

My point is,
we've all come a long way.

Still the first inning.

Let's bring it in!

The senior United States
Senator from New York,

Walter Carson,
has been shot multiple times

outside of a house
in Scarsdale, New York.

The area around the home
remains an active crime scene,

and few details have emerged

about what is already
the highest-profile shooting

of an American politician
in a generation.

Was this political? Do we know?

We don't know.
Have others been shot?

We don't know.
Whose house is this?

The Senator's, I assume.

Don't assume, 'cause it isn't.

Senator Carson lives
on the Upper East Side.

We don't know
whose house this is,

we don't know why he was there,
we don't know why he was shot.

This could be a home invasion,
some random crime,

it could be a political hit,
it could be a domestic dispute.

We don't know.

And until we know,
we don't know...

What do you know?

Nothing. And if I did,
I couldn't talk about it.

I'm just asking...
Are we picking this up?

I don't know.

You okay?

Carson handed me my diploma
at Stuyvesant High in '89.

I was a volunteer
on his '92 campaign.

Worked out of
the Rochester field office.

Jill.

I got to go.

Okay, we're getting word

from University Memorial
Hospital...

63-year-old United States
Senator Walter Carson has died

as a result
of multiple gunshot wounds.

Senator Carson becomes

the first United States Senator
killed in office

since the man who previously
held this same seat

was gunned down
in California in 1968...

New York Senator
Robert F. Kennedy.

The senator's son
lives in Scarsdale.

Just moved in.
This was his house.

What are you guys wearing?

Who are you? Ted. Who are you?

You're not Ted. Who is this?

Ted. Ted is our
new investigator.

Well, our old investigator
was named Ted.

I know. It's confusing.

It's actually
not that confusing.

You just need to remember
your investigator is named Ted.

This was
the Senator's son's house.

Maybe he was shot
at his son's house

because there was
less security there?

Senators don't have full-time
security outside of Washington.

Sir, FBI is confirming
Senator Carson was shot

by local police. The police?

That doesn't make any sense.
Senator Carson is white.

A 911 call was made
to Scarsdale police

reporting an active shooter
at this residence.

The police responded
with more than 50 officers

from seven different
departments,

including
the Special Response Team.

Senator Carson apparently

ran out the doorway
after his grandson

and was shot on the front porch.

The boy was uninjured.

E-Excuse me. I need a lawyer.

Give us a minute.

Someone just killed
a United States Senator.

Yeah. Th-That was me.

- I rep WorldWarBlood.
- What?

It's a video game,
WorldWarBlood.

Online multiplayer.

This dude in my Pillage Guild...
MySoCalledKnife...

Bet me he could beat me
to a hundred caps, so...

Okay, okay, stop. Back up.
What is your name?

Julian. Okay, Julian.

What does "WorldWarBlood"
and "Pillage Guild" and "Caps"

have to do with the Senator?

I had a disagreement
with MySoCalledKnife,

and, you know, it...
It got a little out of control.

And he was like,
"Why don't you swat me, then?"

And I was like, "Fine, I will,"
so I just...

Wait, why...
Why don't you what me?

My God. This was a swatting.

S-Swatting. Nobody?

Really? Really? Ted.

Why does his name
have to be Ted?

Swatting is when
someone calls 911 and reports

that something horrible
is happening at some address...

An active shooter,
a bomb, hostages...

And the police send
a Special Response Team...

A SWAT team... and everyone
there is terrorized.

It's big in the gamer community.

He gave me his address,
so I did it.

Except the address
he gave you...

Wasn't his.

It was the son
of a United States Senator.

I didn't know that.

How hard is it to trace
these 911 calls?

I used a tor browser and spoofed
the call in a VOIP network

to mask the number.

Difficult. Not impossible.

You don't have to
turn yourself in, Julian.

I'm not advising you not to.
I'm not advising you to.

I-I-I don't want a bunch of cops
coming to my house.

My mom, she doesn't
need to see that.

I messed this up.

If you're not gonna help me,

I'll walk over
to the FBI myself...

Julian,
we are going to help you.

Ted, I want you to look
into everything you can

about Julian's past.

His online activity.

These other guys
playing the game.

Sandra, you bought this one.
It's yours.

The government is going to file
a false report charge,

but see what else
they might hit him with.

Contact his parents.

Jay. Duty.

Allison, these cases.
All of them.

This is all hands on deck.

I don't know anything.

I do.

Walter Carson was
a tireless public servant,

a proud New Yorker,

a wonderful father and...
And husband.

Swatting is not a joke.

It's an act of terrible
cowardice and cruelty.

And I can assure you
that this office

will bring every possible
resource to bear

in prosecuting Julian Sarco

to the fullest extent
of the law.

We've got nothing, do we?

We have Julian Sarco.

For filing a false report
to emergency services.

18 years old. No priors.

Maybe gets four years.

For killing
a United States Senator.

He didn't kill
a United States Senator.

What about the officer who did
kill a United States senator?

He acted within protocol.

What else can we charge
Sarco with?

Sarco was in a Pillage Guild
with MySoCalledKnife.

That's his handle...
MySoCalledKnife.

MySoCalledKnife has lots
of enemies within WorldWarBlood,

including KimJunMakeEmSayUn...

D-Don't say the names anymore.

Right. So, when it looked like

Julian might not
go through with the swat,

Kim offered Julian
some online currency to do it.

Yeah. So... conspiracy?

We need more.

More?

That is everything Julian
has said in WorldWarBlood

over the last two years.

It's dark and threatening
and grotesquely violent.

Enjoy. This is horrible.

He sounds like every kid
on a video game.

Which is horrible.

If you don't like video games.
Or kids.

I don't. You know this is
bad for us, right?

It is what it is.
It's bad for us.

Look, if you say so.

I do. I did. We need your help.

Now, see,
if I was in your position,

I would think that that would be
helpful information to have,

and I would say,
"Wow, Ted, this is great.

How did you turn this up
so quickly?"

And you would say, "Aw, shucks,
just doing my job."

You're me in this scenario.

And then I would say, "I can't
imagine you found anything else out"

in such a short period of time."

And you would say,
"Actually, I did."-

"I also found out
Julian Sarco has swatted

six other times in the past."

And I would say, "My God."

That's so bad,
but so good to know.

"Thank you." And I'd start
to walk away, so grateful.

But then you would say,
"Wait. One more thing."

The others involved in this,

MySoCalledKnife
and KimJunMakeEmSayUn,

they have both been identified
and are being investigated,

but the focus is on Julian

"because he's the one who
actually made the phone call."

And I would say,
"You found all that out?"

I'm speechless.

"Who are you?"

And then you would lean in
and say, "I am Ted."

And then you'd walk away.

Tina Krissman,
ladies and gentlemen!

Don't do that.

I will not do that again.

Not on the Senator Carson case?

They only give me
the important stuff, Tina.

I'm a lawyer on duty.
I work with a blindfold.

I put my hands out.
I take it. I shape it.

I turn dirt into gold.

My parents cut off
my allowance when I turned 30,

like that's even a thing.

What was I supposed to do?
Get a job?

I have a job.

I film myself sitting
in public spaces while I blog.

How is that a job?

How is that not a job?
Because you...

You know what? Doesn't matter.
The allegation is

you went into open houses
in your building

and stole prescription drugs
from your neighbors

and sold them.

Okay. Are you done reaming me?

Let me set the scene here
for you.

I'm at an open house next door,
and I have to use the bathroom,

and Ms. Wilding has this
tub of Vicodin on the counter.

Like a wheelbarrow of Vicodin.

And I'm like,
"Am I supposed to take this?

Why is it just sitting there?"

Right? Are you with me? No.

So I take 2 or 3... 75.

And I'm not using them,

even though I'm super depressed.

But my friend Burks
has a broken back.

Or something.

And he was like,
"If you give me the Vicodin,

"I can give you a hundred
dollars" because he knows that

my parents screwed me
on my allowance.

So not a "sale."

That is a sale.

When is the lawyer
going to get here?

I'm the lawyer.

You're a lawyer?

I'm your lawyer.
I'm a federal public defender.

Whether or not I go to jail

is in the hands
of a public defender?

How can my parents not
hire me a real attorney?

Okay, cool, great pep talk.

Now, I'm gonna go do my job,
which is an actual job,

and talk to the prosecutor.

Wait!

Is someone gonna
bring me breakfast?

She still lives
with her parents?

Well, sometimes it can
make financial sense

to move back home.

She's never left home.

Sometimes that makes sense, too.

You live with your parents.

Nearby. Same borough.

Same general area.
Yes, I live with my parents.

How did we end up here,
talking about this?

You got shut out of
the swatting case, too?

I wouldn't say "shut out."

I'd say strategically deployed

on something dramatically
less important.

Look, this girl is awful.

I'm not gonna lie,
but this is...

Ridiculous. We can do probation.

I remember your office

being smaller
and more depressing.

Maybe that was just the mood?

Nope. New office.

This was Leonard Knox's
old office.

Unfortunately, it didn't come
with his case load.

Well, you're here,
and he's... wherever he is.

Where is he, again?

I'm in hell. It's not that hot.

It's like 185 degrees.

Try breathing
through your mouth.

- I'm not doing that.
- You coming out with us tonight?

Can't. Prepping my first case

in front
of the Texas Supreme Court.

Defending a challenge
to a statute

that restricts pickling
to cucumbers.

It's actually
pretty interesting...

We're headed to
the South Congress Bridge

to watch the bats at dusk.

I hate bats. We hate bats.

But we love
the out-of-town chicks

who get wasted
and watch the bats.

Sounds cool. Let me...
Let me think about it.

You were right! Okay?

We haven't talked in months,

and that's what
you have to say to me?

Is there anything
you'd rather hear?

No, I guess not.
Right about what?

Everything.
The heat, the white people,

the bats, stupid festivals
every two days.

You know what I did last night?

I went to a mustache competition
because Austin is weird.

My God.

What?

This line. For barbecue.

I told you.
This is what I'm saying.

Maybe I should come back.

Should I come back?
Would Roger take me back?

You'd have to ask Roger.
I need to go.

I miss you. Leonard...

I miss New York, the office,

Hand-Pulled Noodle House #3.

Yesterday,
I thought I missed Seth.

Then that passed.
I miss the work there.

You're the Solicitor General
of Texas.

I am working
on a case about pickles.

You're on the swatting case,
aren't you?

You are not a quitter, Leonard.

You're many things...
Spoiled, insolent,

wrong on so many levels...

But you're not a quitter.

You thought about this decision
long and hard,

and you made a choice.
You chose Texas.

Now you just do it well.
Like I know you can.

You chose Texas.

You're right. Again.

Goodbye, Leonard.

New Ted! Good morning!

"Ted" is fine.

Nah, that's not gonna work.
Going with New Ted.

Your parents are here.

What? Why?

Those aren't my parents.

Mr. Simmons, I'm Bob Colgate.
This is my wife, Cindy.

Holiday's parents.
So nice to meet you.

I know how stressful
this kind of thing can be,

but the good news is
she's not going to jail

and this is not a felony.

Where's the good news?

So, there are two parts, really.

Not going to jail
and not a felony.

Which means she's back at home?
Correct.

Right.
So how is that good for us?

Y-You don't want her at home?

You met her. Would you?

She's not my daughter.

That makes it worse. Trust me.

Have you asked her to leave?

137 times. This year.

We served her
with eviction papers.

You served your own daughter
with eviction papers?

Wasn't that hard.

I just gave them to her
coming out of the bathroom.

This was our last hope.

Wait, hold on.

Y-You turned her in
about the Vicodin?

- Of course.
- Yes!

We didn't want
her to go to jail.

M-Maybe a-a few nights.

But if she's a convicted felon,

the co-op won't let her live
in the building.

This is insane.

Says the successful professional

who isn't living
with his parents.

I mean, that's not relevant.

Yeah, look, we know that we're
not innocent in all of this.

We created a monster.
No rules, no discipline.

And we named her Holiday,
for God's sake.

We didn't break her spirit
when we should have,

and that is on us.

But this is on you!
You have to fix this!

Well, unfortunately,

Holiday's already
taken the deal.

Your daughter's
not a convicted felon.

I'm so sorry.

We have all of Julian's
online communications.

- Good.
- Not good.

They're vengeful
and full of rage and threats,

and he's swatted
six times in the past.

What about the officer
who shot the Senator?

He's clean.

And the other gamers?

They'll probably get charged,

but that's not
gonna help Julian.

We got nothing, really.

What do we have?

Making a threat in interstate
communications... maybe.

Cyberstalking? That's harder.

Wire fraud. Wire fraud?

We got... nothing, really.

The false report is one charge.

We're preparing
a superseding indictment

with four additional charges...

Making a threat
in interstate communications,

cyberstalking, conspiracy,
wire fraud.

Wire fraud?

Julian isn't gonna
present well to a jury.

He's a kid. He has no criminal
history. He turned himself in.

He's an adult.

He engages in relentlessly
violent rhetoric online.

He's credibly tied to multiple
swatting incidents in the past.

He turned himself in because
he was going to be caught.

What are you offering?
Six years.

This is a kid
who made a phone call.

This is a phone call that killed
a United States Senator.

2 years' probation,
$10,000 fine.

Sarco pleads guilty
to conspiracy

and making a false charge,

we'll recommend 5 years
in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Drop the conspiracy charge,
he'll plead to false report,

1 year in prison, $15,000.

Four years in prison,

and he testifies
against MySoCalledKnife

and anyone else
involved in this.

That's as low as we can go.

That was the easy part.

Four years? He's a teenager.

He... He...
He did something stupid.

He's not a bad kid.

I mean, sometimes
I worried about

how much time he spent
on the computer,

but mostly I liked that
it kept him home, safe,

when I was at work.

I mean, it's just a game, right?

Julian's never touched
a real weapon,

never even got in a fist fight.

Four years in federal prison?

For a phone call?

Four years in prison?

For killing my dad?

It's totally inadequate.
We agree.

But there's no federal law
that covers this kind of thing.

My father is dead.
They shot him.

Right in front of me,
in... in front of my son.

And for what?

Some stupid fight
over a video game?

What kind of sick person thinks

doing something like this
is funny?

How can you sit there and tell
me that's the best you can do?

Why don't you come to bed?

I can't sleep.

I would ask you if you
want to talk about it.

But we don't talk about work.

We can't talk about work.

I don't even like talking about
not talking about work.

In the '92 campaign,

he'd come by the office
every few weeks,

the Senator.

He was very inspirational.

I became a lawyer
because of him.

Senator Carson inspired you to
defend the man who killed him?

Julian didn't kill
Senator Carson.

But, yes...

Life is complicated, isn't it?

Come to bed.

Yes, you're right.

- NYPD! Get on the ground now!
- Freeze!

- Get down!
- Crawl!

- Roger!
- Don't move! Hey! Hey!

- She's unarmed. She's unarmed!
- Get on the ground!

- Ma'am, on the ground now!
- Face forward!

- Hands behind your back!
- Face forward!

- Do it now!
- Do you want to get shot?!

- Move your hands.
- Don't move!

- Keep your hands where we can see them.
- Do not move.

I will shoot you.

Okay. All right.

Are you okay?

I'm fine.

Do we know anything...

The call came
from Holland, Michigan.

My press conference, apparently.

The FBI is on it.

You said someone offered Julian

online currency
in exchange for swatting?

Yes, 475 Bloodoons.

That's the currency
in the video game.

Well, if Julian was paid
to make the 911 call,

we can get him
on murder-for-hire.

It was online currency.
Not real money.

The statute doesn't say
"real money."

it says murder in exchange for
"anything of pecuniary value."

What is the "pecuniary value"
of a Bloodoon?

Well, it must be something,
or people wouldn't kill for it.

You're talking about murder,
malice, intent to kill.

Where is the intent?

It's where he says
he intends to kill.

In a video game...
To a real person.

Murder-for-hire
is a capital offense...

Are you gonna
do your job or not?

I am doing my job.
This is my job.

I'm trying to determine
the appropriate charges.

I understand
what happened last night

was deeply upsetting, but...

No, you don't understand.
At all.

And I don't blame you for that.

We're up here, all day,
every day, on the 20th floor,

staring at computer screens,

reading files,
looking at photos,

making decisions
about people's lives.

Above it all. Literally.

But this work is not bloodless,
and we should not be.

We're not machines.

We don't just plug in facts
and spit out charges.

We use our discretion.
We work for justice.

On the ground. For the people.

Now, there were over 400
swatting incidents

in this country last year,
and it's on the rise,

and there is no federal statute
to deal with it.

The congresswoman
who introduced one?

She was swatted.
So what do we do?

Nothing?

Give me the file.

So, I settled the case

with a 34-year-old girl
in pajamas

squatting in her parents' house,

and I'm ready
for something else.

Anything else.

I was gonna jump in and
help Allison on a few things.

You have your choice of
health care benefits fraud,

bribery, or conspiracy to steal
bioengineered rice seeds.

Lot of nice options here.

I can do you one better.
Mail theft. Just came in.

For you, Jay.

Mail theft?

Who steals mail?

I was trying to make some money.

By stealing mail?

You say "mail" like these are
letters from "The Notebook."

These are like catalogues
and stupid bills

and rando envelopes laying
around the co-op mailroom.

That's mail!

From which I am making art,
which I will sell,

because my parents are being
even more lame than usual.

How did the mail police
even know I was doing this?

It was on your Instagram.
The art.

Right. That's cool.

No, it's not cool.

I'm gonna talk
to the prosecutor again.

He's reasonable.

You should be grateful.
Not all of them are.

We had a deal... four years.

And now he's charging
murder-for-hire and conspiracy

and three other new charges

that, alone,
could mean 8 to 12 years.

This is about last night,
isn't it?

Getting swatted.

I'm sure it is.

Julian had nothing
to do with that...

I know. It's emotional.
It's punitive, I know.

But Roger has the right
to charge

whatever he thinks he can prove,

and if he thinks
he can prove this...

Can't you talk to him, though?

You guys have a relationship.

Well, I don't mean that.

I wasn't suggesting...
I just... I just meant maybe

you can talk some sense into him
because this is insane.

A few cops show up to his house,

tell him to put his hands up...
Sandra...

which is what our clients
deal with every day...

It's not "a few cops," okay?!

He had semi-automatic weapons

jammed into
the side of his head.

Have you ever been through
something like that?

Police screaming at you?
All at the same time?

And you can't move,
you can't talk.

Because those things might
get you shot in your home.

Don't be glib.

I'm sorry.

These are the charges.
This is the case.

We work the case.

You filed the new charges.

Yes.

I don't agree
with that decision.

I know. I don't care.

I will continue
to work on the case,

but when it comes to sentencing...
No.

I feel strongly about the
application of the death penalty...

No, you will not continue
to work on the case.

You're taking me off the case?

Yes.

Because I disagreed with you?

'Cause I have someone else
working on it now.

Welcome home, Mr. Knox.

- I don't want to hear it.
- It was too hot down there.

You have to breathe
through your mouth.

Don't try to charm
your way out of this.

It's not charming.
It's the opposite of charming.

What's the opposite of charming?
Seth.

How did this even happen?

I called him,
like you told me to.

I didn't tell you to call him
and take my case.

I didn't call him
and take your case.

I called him,
he told me about the case

and said you didn't
want to add the charges.

I didn't. So what's the problem?

You couldn't have told me
you were coming back?

It all happened so fast.

You quit your job
as Solicitor General of Texas,

you packed, you bought tickets,
you flew on an airplane...

I didn't want you
to talk me out of it.

When have I ever
talked you out of anything?

I shouldn't have left
in the first place.

I had a choice. I chose Texas.

That was a mistake
for lots of reasons.

I realized that, and this
was a chance to get back.

I thought... I thought
I'd be helping you.

You didn't do this for me.

What if I did?

Well, then,
you made another mistake.

And this case sucks, by the way.

Sucks.

If you had any capacity
to be ashamed of yourself,

you would be.

You will be.

This is my office.

It was, yes.

I'm sure it's been
many people's office.

I'm sorry.
Are you just visiting, or...

No, I'm back.
Is that an Elvis clock?

Pretty cool, right? No.

Hey, I'm gonna need
you to clear out of here.

You're back working here?

Roger brought me back to
work on the Julian Sarco case.

He called you back from Texas?
Yes.

From Texas?

I'm right here,
right not in Texas,

working on mail theft,
and he brings you back?

Look, dude, I'm sorry. I am.

I don't know. Not my call.

If you'd get all your stuff out
by the end of the day,

that'd be best.

Nobody told you, did they?

What? Who you're up against.

No.

Because I don't care
who I'm up against.

That's why I have the case
and you don't.

I'm back.

I see that.

I'm sorry.

If you want to be the best,

you want to go up
against the best.

I'm sure I'll have another
chance at that with Kate.

But, anyway, here we are.

Welcome back.

Agent Vinuza, you've had
a chance to review

the correspondence
in WorldWarBlood

between the defendant,
Mr. Sarco,

and another gamer who uses
the handle MySoCalledKnife?

That's correct.
In that correspondence,

did Mr. Sarco
ever explicitly threaten

to kill MySoCalledKnife?

He did. Repeatedly.

He said he would "waste him,"
"kill his sorry ass,"

that the "dudes who show up
at your house"

are going to be ready to cap.
Keep your hands up."

Agent Vinuza, WorldWarBlood has

a feature called
"M-Cloud," correct? Yes.

And M-Cloud is when

you drop a nuclear bomb
on one of your opponents?

That's correct. M-Cloud
stands for "Mushroom Cloud."

Isn't it true that Mr. Sarco
repeatedly threatened

to "M-Cloud" MySoCalledKnife?
Yes.

Didn't Mr. Sarco
tell MySoCalledKnife,

"I can't wait to see you
beg like a whiny little bitch

when I M-Cloud your whole family"?
Yes.

You don't have any evidence
that Mr. Sarco actually believed

he would or could
detonate a nuclear bomb

in order to kill
MySoCalledKnife, do you?

No, ma'am.

Agent Patel, you're an expert
on cybersecurity

within the FBI, correct?
That's correct.

In your review of this case,

did the gamer KimJunMakeEmSayUn

offer to pay,
and did he in fact pay

the defendant, Mr. Sarco,
to swat the home of Fred Carson,

which resulted in the death
of Senator Walter Carson?

Yes.

Paid in what currency,
Agent Patel?

Bloodoons. I'm sorry? Bloodoons?

Is that a foreign currency?

I'm not familiar
with what country...

Bloodoons is a virtual currency
in WorldWarBlood.

Inside the game?

Yes. I see.

Do Bloodoons have any pecuniary
value outside the game?

No.

So, to be absolutely clear,

I couldn't go to the airport
right now and say,

"I'd like to buy
a one-way ticket to Texas.

Here's a billion Bloodoons"?

I don't think you would
get on that flight.

Agent Tate,
you've had an opportunity

to forensically analyze

the defendant's computer,
phone, tablets,

and other electronic devices
seized in a search of his home?

Yes.

Have you been able to determine

whether the swatting incident
in this case

is the first one
Mr. Sarco has been involved in?

Your Honor.

If I could just have a minute?

You can object to this.

404b. Prior bad acts.
You can keep this out.

I don't want to keep it out.

We're ready to proceed.

Do you have an objection,
Ms. Bell?

No, Your Honor.
The witness may answer.

We believe that
Mr. Sarco has swatted

at least six other times.

Was anyone killed
in any of those incidents?

No.

Physically injured in any way?

No.

So, based on those incidents,

Mr. Sarco would have
no reason to believe

that swatting results in anyone
getting physically injured,

much less killed, correct?

That's difficult for me to say.

Well, Agent Tate, it would be
hard to believe, would it not,

that Mr. Sarco really
intended to kill someone

when the weapon
he was allegedly using

had never previously resulted
in anyone even getting injured?

Objection! Beyond the scope.

Calls for a legal conclusion.

Sustained.

I'm going to fix this.
I'm gonna figure something out.

I know what to do.

Leonard Knox is back?

I guess so. Not sure.

He took your office.

I like the light in here more.

S-So, look,
we're back on Holiday.

"Back on Holiday"!

I did you a favor. Once.

Not again.

Mail theft carries
a maximum of five years.

Whoa, Cobra Kai,
what's going on here?

This jackass comes back,
swipes your office,

and you want to take it out
on the only person in America

still using the U.S. mail?

Save the analysis.

O-Okay. You're right.

Not cool. Not personal.

You want to go
to the mat on this,

I'm good for the fight.

I do think it's a colossal
waste of time,

and I know you're
better than this.

You pick the right fights.

I can make this go away
with the Colgates

so we can both focus
on more important battles...

but that's up to you.

Would you please tell the jury

about the moments leading up
to your father's death?

I was in the kitchen.

My dad, the Senator,

was in the living room
with my son, Jack,

building a balloon car.

We saw flashing lights outside.

I looked out the window, and...

I've never seen
anything like it.

A dozen squad cars, tanks,

officers lined up
with automatic weapons.

We didn't know what the hell
was going on,

and everybody started panicking.

My dad was calling his aides,
trying to get information.

And, in all the chaos, I guess,

Jack must have slipped away,
ran to the front door.

He's 4.

I think he heard "police,"

and he wanted to see the police.

Yeah, he loves police.

Take your time.

Jack opened the door,

and my dad,
he just ran out after him.

Instinct.

He was like that.

He was fearless, protective.

And then it was
like firecrackers.

So loud.

Somebody tackled me,

and somebody else grabbed Jack,

and I... could hear him crying,

screaming for my dad,

and I saw my dad on the ground.

He'd been shot.

He was dead. I knew that.

He was dead.

And then I heard Jack say,
"Grandpa, get up.

Come inside."

That's what I heard my son say
when he looked at my dad.

The killing of Senator
Walter Carson was a tragedy,

but it was not an accident.

It is critical
that you remember this.

What Fred Carson saw
on the porch of his house

was the direct consequence

of Julian Sarco's words
and actions.

This was exactly
what he intended to do.

This was why he called 911.

"Waste him,"
"kill his sorry ass,"

"send the cops, ready to cap."

That was what he wanted.

It doesn't matter that
he killed the wrong person.

That is irrelevant.

The law requires only
that he intended to kill...

and he did.

MySoCalledKnife was an opponent,

and he was trying to
kill that opponent.

In real life. In the game.
It didn't matter to him.

Because there was
no difference to him.

M-Cloud, swat?

These are just moves
against another character.

And that's what
MySoCalledKnife was...

A character, not a person.

Julian never met him,
never talked to him,

doesn't have any idea what
he looks like, doesn't care.

He's a character,

and Julian wanted to destroy him
in any way that he could.

That's the world
Julian lives in.

But that's not the world
we live in.

We live in the real world,

where people bleed
and children cry,

where there is real loss
and deep pain.

Where people die
and don't get up.

I understand why the government

brought this case
against Julian.

The circumstances
of Senator Carson's death

are tragic and frustrating

and, in many ways, inexplicable.

How could this happen?
How could we let this happen?

Who can we blame?

Julian made a mistake,
but no one honestly believes...

Least of all the fine lawyers
who filed these charges...

That Julian is
legally responsible

for Senator Carson's death.

No, these charges were filed

to make an example
out of Julian.

To say, "This stops here,"
and I agree.

We ought to take what happened
as a cautionary tale,

as an invitation for someone
to assume responsibility

for the troubled world
Mr. Knox so ably describes.

But we should take
responsibility for this.

Because his world,
it is our world.

That is the world we live in.

We drop bombs on places
halfway around the globe

from suburban office parks
a few miles from here.

We blast pictures of people
we've never met online.

We destroy reputations
with keystrokes.

We lead lives, many of us...

All of us in one way
or another...

That are detached,
artificial, simulated,

with fake money
and fake friends,

fake violence, fake love.

Julian didn't create this.

If we're going to make a change,

if we're going to make
ourselves human again,

if we're going to accept
responsibility

for how disconnected and
disassociated we've become...

let's do it together.

Don't point at Julian

and say he is that
and we are not.

Mom? Dad?
What are you doing here?

What are you doing here?
What are you doing here?

Okay, let's go ahead
and stop that right now.

We are all here because we're
gonna have a talk together,

and I'm gonna go first,
and then we can all leave.

So, Holiday, your parents
are the ones turning you in.

Stoppppppp!

Is that true?

It is true.

They are turning you in

because they don't want you
to live at home anymore.

Now, let's talk about that.

I live at home with my parents.

I'm sorry to disappoint you,
Ms. Colgate, but it's true.

I live with my parents.
Always have.

There's nothing wrong
with living with your parents.

All around the world,
people live with their parents

and grandparents,
uncles and aunts.

There is nothing wrong
with living with your parents

if it works for everyone.

I like living at home,

and my parents like
having me at home.

I think.
I need to check on that.

Now, look, someday,
I might have to move out,

but living at home
is not the problem here.

The problem is
you aren't communicating.

You say you want her to leave,

but you're the ones who insisted
she come back after college,

you make her breakfast
every morning,

and you both complain to her
about one another.

You use her.

You... are whiny
and unappreciative,

and you need an actual job,
and you need to grow up,

and you really,
really need to put pants on.

Real pants. Pants.

This is not hard.

I'm sorry, Mom, Dad,
and not just about the pants.

Your parents love you, Holiday,
and you love them.

However twisted it all looks,

I do believe
you love each other.

Now, here's the score...

The prosecutor has agreed
to drop these charges,

but that won't happen next time,

so don't let there be
a next time, okay?

I have a lot of hope for you.

I have faith in you.
I believe in you.

And I don't ever, ever want
to see any of you ever again.

Great talk.

I understand the jury has
reached a unanimous verdict.

Yes, Your Honor.

In the case of the United States
v. Julian Sarco,

how do you find the defendant

on Count One, murder-for-hire?

Not guilty.

With respect to Count Two,

making a false report
to emergency services

resulting in death of another,

how do you find the defendant...

Guilty or not guilty?

Guilty.

With respect to Count Three,

conspiracy to make a false
report to emergency services

resulting in death of another,
how do you find the defendant...

Guilty or not guilty?

Guilty.

With respect to Count Four,

making a threat
in interstate communications,

how do you find the defendant...
Guilty or not guilty?

Guilty.

You might not have
realized this yet,

but things are different
around here now,

and I'm taking back this office.

Not because it has a window,

though I have enjoyed watching
all the little cars go by,

but because I earned it.

You left, I was here,
I am here, and I earned this.

This is my office.

Okay.

I'm sorry.

Don't.

I just wanted to say thank you.

He's my boy.

You defended him.

I wanted to say thank you.