

FBI Seizes Thousands of Artifacts from 91-Year-Old Man's Home - wikiburner
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/03/thousands-cultural-artifacts-seized/7244431/

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erikig
TLDR;

"The aim of the investigation is to determine what each artifact is, where it
came from and how Miller obtained it, Jones said, to determine whether some of
the items might be illegal to possess privately."

Not sure whether this is justified or just another overreach by the FBI.

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danjayh
It almost sounds to me like they're seizing a collection that was probably
bought and paid for by this man. If that's the case, and the only thing
illegal he's done is break some 'you can't have that' laws, I'd say this is
almost outright theft. I can understand restricting private ownership of items
that could cause massive physical harm to others (nerve gas, pathogens, etc.),
but restricting ownership of something because it's a 'cultural treasure'?
Sounds awfully authoritarian to me. Hopefully there's more to this and the
article simply left it out.

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sillysaurus3
If it's stolen property, it's a tough situation. What should happen if someone
steals the art and sells it through a fencer? Should that customer get to keep
it? If not, should it be taken from that customer and returned to its owner?

It seems unlikely that's what's happening here, though. But it's an
interesting question. I don't know how law enforcement usually handles that
situation.

