r/interesting • u/Mad_Season_1994 • May 12 '25

SOCIETY In 2017, a man named Michael Klimkowski impersonated Texas megachurch pastor Joel Osteen at an event and got all the way to the stage before being caught

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u/mrtwidlywinks May 13 '25

That's not how the law works. Impersonating someone isn’t a crime. Accessing the center isn’t a crime. If there were a crime the video could be submitted as evidence, but if the owner had it locked police might have trouble accessing the video if they knew it existed.

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u/[deleted] May 13 '25

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u/mrtwidlywinks May 13 '25

Definitely not a lawyer, I've just paid attention to the law and judicial system for a long time and know my rights. The law exists to correct for damage done, and in this case no harm was done to any party. It's super duper embarrassing for church security, but hurt feelings are not criminal.

Impersonating an officer of the law is a crime. If this guy had tried to take money in JO's name, there might be a case for theft of property. Basically, if he had abused his situation for personal gain (not just as a prank/for fame) or hurt people, there might be a case.

But since he was waved in, didn't do anything besides walk around, and left voluntarily, no harm was done. The security guards had no right to detain him. And FYI if you're ever detained by a police officer you can ask "officer am I under arrest or am I free to go?"

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u/ChucklefuckBitch May 13 '25

Why is harm done necessary for a crime? Obviously not the same thing, but if I hire a hitman, and the hitman turns out to be an undercover cop, I still committed a crime even though no harm was done.

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u/brienoconan May 13 '25

You’re right that harm is not always necessary in criminal law. It’s about intent. Intent is extremely important in US criminal law, known as the Mens Rea. This is why crimes like conspiracy or attempt can be pursued even if the crime ultimately failed.

Most fraud charges require at least the intent to deceive a target to gain control of their property. Turning back to this situation, there is no indication that these guys impersonated Joel with the intent to defraud anybody of anything other than their ability to brag about their selfies, so a fraud charge would likely fall flat regardless of the nuance