Ministry of Fandom Assassination Policy

"Targeted Killings" AKA Assassinations are one of the tactics the Ministry of Fandom uses to protect fandoms from threats. These are managed by the covert branch known as Directorate A. However the Ministry has a strong belief in the value of human life. Thus assassinations are tightly regulated under a strict policy that is never to be violated. EVER!!! No Exceptions or Excuses!!!

For an individual to be considered a candidate for an Ministry of Fandom assassination operation, a strict set of criteria must be met. One or more of these criteria must be met to be considered for targeting however the more that an individual meets, the higher the chances of being approved for assassination will be. These criteria are as follows:

1. The targeted individual poses a credible, imminent, and severe threat resulting in irreparable damage or loss of life to a fandom or scene.

2. There is credible evidence that the targeted individual is about to engage in a violent or terroristic act towards a member/s of a particular fandom or scene.

3. The targeted individual is a persistent threat to a particular fandom or scene and has pattern of behavior resulting in severe damage to it. This pattern of behavior must be going on consistently for a period of no less then 10 years.

4. There are absolutely NO other alternative actions available that can be taken to deal with the targeted individual or all such alternative actions have been completely exhausted and the threat is still present.

5. The targeted individual is NOT in anyway a creator/author to a particular IP that keeps a fandom alive and who's death would cause a catastrophic collapse of it. An exception to this condition can be made ONLY if the targeted individual meets ALL of the other criteria. To clarify, when the term "creator" is used, it refers to the individual/s who put in the effort to produce the work itself. Thus just because a targeted individual legally owns the rights to the IP, doesn't mean this person is a "creator/author" according to the Ministry of Fandom.

Once one or more of these criteria are met, a Ministry of Fandom employee may file a petition for assassination with Directorate A stating the case and justification for such a drastic action to be conducted. Credible intelligence MUST be provided for it to even be considered. If none is supplied, it will automatically be rejected. A petition MUST contain the following:

1. The full name of the individual to be targeted. This includes full dox and plenty of identifying information. Biometric patterns are recommended.

2. The reason for targeting. This must be concise and straight to the point. A list of the targeting criteria must be explicitly specified.

3. A complete justification for why the target meets each of the specified criteria. Some credible intelligence must be provided to prove that each of the specified criteria is being met. Intelligence based solely on word of mouth is not enough unless it is from a fully vetted informant or trusted source.

4. The full signature and other agency identifiers of the petitioner along with a sworn statement.

To prevent any potential abuse of this, only specific Ministry employees are authorized to even file this document and this is only after undergoing an additional vetting process. Directorate A may require a personal interview of the petitioner to further discuss the petition that has been submitted.

Information supplied in the petition will be quadruple checked for accuracy and truthfulness before any consideration is made. This will involve corroborating information with other parts of the Ministry. Directorate A also has the final say on if a petition is accepted or rejected. There are no appeals. However new credible intelligence can be provided to further support a petition and it will be re-investigated.

If a petition is accepted, then it will be sent to the heads of Directorate A for consideration. A majority must vote to approve it for the operation to be green lighted. Once the operation is green lighted, all of the available hitmen will be looked into to see who will be suitable to carry out the assassination. One or more can be selected to participate in the operation.

There are only a specific set of methods approved by the Ministry of Fandom for the kill to be carried out. These methods are designed to be as swift as possible. They are as follows:

1. A projectile wound that kills swiftly with no chance of survival.

2. A fast acting poison that will painlessly cause the brain to shut down. This can be administered via a laced bullet, blade, food, drink, etc.

3. Staging an "accident" just as long as it will result in a swift death.

4. An attack with a melee weapon so long as the kill results in a swift death with no chance of survival.

5. Declaring the target legally dead. That is filing an official death certificate and basically erasing the target's identity from existence. Thus the target can claim to be alive till the cows come home but as far as society is concerned, the target no longer exists. This is the perferred method of dealing with a creator/author of an IP because after all, a ghost cannot enforce an exclusive right nor can a ghost's agents unless an estate and executor is prepared ahead of time (such estates are dealt with another way). This method can be considered a fate worse then death for some people.

No other methods are permitted. One of the cardinal rules is to avoid all collateral damage. Only the target is to be affected. During the operation, the assassins must supply their own weapons and armor. The only things the Ministry of Fandom will provide is the poison, a communicator to coordinate with agents from Directorate A, and information about the target in the form of a Writ of Assassination. Also, should any of the assassins be caught or killed, the Ministry will disavow any knowledge of their actions.

Sometimes Directorate A might notify the targeted individual of the Writ of Assassination issued against them in advance by an "anonymous" source. The purpose of this warning is a last ditch effort to change the individual's behavior if intelligence indicates that a threat of assassination will suffice. If this threat works, then the writ is shelved. But should it not, the operation will be carried out.

Information about assassination ops is considered highly classified at the highest level and only people within Directorate A are allowed access and that requires proper clearance. People who are selected for assassination ops are already vetted for the operation ahead of time. Potential employees are also vetted before being allowed to work for Directorate A. Officially Directorate A doesn't exist.