The crime of obtaining money, property, or services from someone through coercion, typically involving threats of harm to the person, their reputation, or their property. It includes both threats of physical violence and threats to reveal embarrassing information.
From Latin 'extortus,' past participle of 'extorquere' meaning 'to wrest away' or 'twist out.' The legal concept developed in Roman law to address officials who abused their power to extract payments, later expanding to cover private threats and coercion.
Extortion is basically 'pay me or else' - but the 'or else' doesn't have to be violence; threatening to reveal someone's secrets or report them to authorities can also be extortion! The fascinating distinction from robbery is that extortion victims often have time to think and could theoretically refuse, while robbery involves immediate threats requiring instant compliance.
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