The arrest of unbiased journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, in reference to an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest that interrupted a church service in Minnesota, is a check for the American folks. Properly, a few of us. Many people already didn’t like what we noticed taking place throughout the nation. Many believed the un-American threats in the course of the marketing campaign and voted in opposition to this regime in 2024.
So it is a check for the Individuals who — after seeing legislation enforcement seemingly use a 5-year-old as bait and shoot Renee Good and Alex Pretti to loss of life — nonetheless stated they’re on board with the whole lot.
The voters who agreed with President Donald Trump when he stated “they’re bringing medication, they’re bringing crime” again in 2015, and have been OK with him 10 years later, popping up within the Epstein information and pardoning criminals — together with a corrupt former Latin American leader who took bribes to let 400 tons of cocaine be smuggled into the U.S.
This isn’t a check for the voters whose largest concern was the value of groceries or border safety. It is a check for the voters who used that rhetoric about groceries and the border as cowl for his or her unsavory emotions about immigrants. The identical emotions that greeted different teams — the Jews, the Italians, the Irish — after they first got here to this land. The ethnicity could also be completely different, the conspiracy theories could also be new, however on the finish of the day, it’s the same old predictable story.
So, in case you’re the kind to forged a poll simply to personal the libs, the arrest of journalists is a check for you.
On Jan. 18, protesters — believing one of many pastors at Cities Church in St. Paul was additionally the appearing subject director of the native ICE workplace — entered the constructing and disrupted a service. The one motive anybody exterior of St. Paul knew any of that is that we now have freedom of speech and freedom of the press. As a result of folks like Lemon and Fort had the braveness to be there, figuring out they’d 250 years of American custom backing up their proper to do their jobs. That’s the purpose of the first Modification.
Keep in mind, if we don’t have journalists like Fort and my pal Lemon — people who find themselves prepared to do the work required to doc historical past, or learn laws, or maintain elected officers accountable — then you definately now not have freedom of the press. You have got state-controlled media by the use of oligarchy. Which will really feel good to some factions now, however the issue with “now” is that it by no means lasts. The Structure, although, has an actual alternative to stay round. But it surely wants fixed safety.
Within the outdated days, the ultrarich used to purchase native media corporations to generate income or for status locally. Now it feels as if many house owners’ purpose is to manage and curb journalism. As soon as the free press is in a cage, free speech has little room to fly. That’s the byproduct of this wave of media consolidation, whether or not the billionaires who’re engaged in these acquisitions deliberate to do this or not.
As well as, traditionally journalism has been underneath assault by governments not as a result of it was a risk to society, however as a result of it threatens those that wish to management society. The explanation most presidents spar with journalists is that they wish to management the narrative.
But it surely seems the present president desires to manage actuality.
The impulse to rewrite actuality is why Trump established Fact Social. It’s why the administration posts AI-generated images and doctored photos.
The sense that the president can create his personal fact is why someday, the administration can defend the 2nd Modification, and the subsequent, counsel that legally carrying a weapon is a fatal mistake. In any case, if he’s free to trample the first Modification, what’s the issue with kicking the 2nd round every time he must?
Trampling the rights of the folks: that’s the check — for the rapidly dwindling minority of Individuals who nonetheless stand behind Trump. He’s experimenting to see if sufficient of his supporters will settle for having their rights taken away as long as the theft seems to not harm them.
For the numerous Individuals who’ve by no means voted for Trump, the arrests of Lemon and Fort should not a complete shock. We’ve got seen the “Trump 2028” hats and take this thinly veiled risk in opposition to the twenty second Modification severely.
However for the Individuals who vehemently denounced President Obama for carrying a tan swimsuit, the place precisely is “arresting journalists for doing their job” on the threat-to-democracy scale? And why do you suppose Trump is doing this now?
Practically a 12 months in the past, Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi stated she had the Epstein shopper record on her desk for overview. Then the administration waffled and refused to show over its information. On Friday, it lastly did launch 3 million pages of documents.
And on Thursday night time, figuring out that launch was imminent, the Justice Division simply occurred to arrest journalists.
That doesn’t really feel like a coincidence.
It doesn’t even really feel like politics. All of it seems like a check democracy desperately wants America to cross.
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