Two days after an ICE agent shot and killed Renée Good in Minneapolis, Rep. Roger Williams issued an ultimatum to the Trump administration’s critics in Minnesota and beyond.
“People need to quit demonstrating, quit yelling at law enforcement, challenging law enforcement, and begin to get civil,” the Texas Republican told NewsNation. “And until we do that, I guess we’re going to have it this way. And the people that are staying in their homes or doing the right thing need to be protected.”
That’s a pretty clear encapsulation of MAGA-world’s views on dissent these days. You aren’t supposed to protest. You aren’t supposed to “yell at” or “challenge” the militarized federal agents occupying your city. And anyone who wants to be “protected” should probably just stay “in their homes.” Williams isn’t some fringe backbencher; he’s a seven-term congressman who chairs the House Small Business Committee. He is announcing de facto government policy.
For nearly a year, President Donald Trump and his allies have been engaged in an escalating assault on the First Amendment. The administration has systematically targeted or threatened many of Trump’s most prominent critics: massive law firms, Jimmy Kimmel, even, at one point, Elon Musk. But it’s worth keeping in mind that some of the earliest victims of the president’s second-term war on speech were far less powerful.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Get fucked Roger.
“Well, you see, the first amendment prevents congress from passing laws, but under the unitary executive principle, the president doesn’t need authority via congress to suppress free speech” — Stephen Miller, probably.
Clarence Thomas definitely.
Eh, he didn’t make a law. Just a loud complaint. Totally free speech. I agree that he should get fucked though.
I really wish some court would rule that “political statements from office carry outsized consequences for the electorate by way of latitude within their authority, and so carry a similar weight as law thereby violating the 1st”. I really want this legal equivalence because this kind of grandstanding has got to stop. But with the SCOTUS we have right now, I may as well be petitioning from the surface of Mars. One day, perhaps.
They are only using the law of violence monopoly.
It’s bully tactics. Bullies push and push and push with plausible deniability, then when they get a reaction they play the victim.
It’s not just a kids’ problem. It happens all the time in adult life too. Someone can do the most rotten shit to you, but as long as they don’t swear, you’re the bad guy when you finally lose it on them.
Fuck these bullies. Grow the fuck up you pieces of shit.
I’m not super happy with this but the only way I ever got bullies to stop was when I hurt them bad enough they didn’t want it to happen again
"[…]And the people that are staying in their homes or doing the right thing need to be protected.”
So about those people staying in their home, ‘doing the right thing’ getting illegally broken into by ICE without the appropriate warrant…
“People need to quit demonstrating, quit yelling at law enforcement, challenging law enforcement, and begin to get civil,” the Texas Republican told NewsNation. "And until we do that, I guess we’re going to have it this way. And the people that are staying in their homes or doing the right thing need to be protected.”
Motherfucker is your ass really trying to give people a stay at home order?
Demonstrating/Protesting is the peaceful compromise to the violent alternative. You want to force us to stop protesting? Okay.
They are preparing their base to accept martial law. It’s amazing how the so called “don’t thread on me” became “please daddy, thread hard on me”
“I’ll lick those boots clean so you can tread on me, as long as you tread harder on brown and queer people”
They haven’t realize the real in group are the rich fucks and they’re the out group.
I just want to personally thank you for spelling it correctly.
I agree, let’s escalate!
The
beatingsmurders will continue until morale improves.“People need to quit demonstrating, quit yelling at law enforcement, challenging law enforcement, and begin to get civil,” the Texas Republican told NewsNation.
Protests getting you down, lil’ Rog? Going on too long? Getting too loud? Drawing attention you find irritating? Pulling in fence-sitters who don’t want to get murdered by no-name thugs with guns and badges? People who actually know and love the Constitution and don’t like you shitting on it? Neighbors using your repression to build strong communities for themselves and loudly bringing attention to your murderous ethos to spite you? Protesters not giving into your incitements to riot? Taking too long for an excuse to declare martial law? Don’t want to lose your fascist party’s power in the midterms?
Glad to hear it! Thanks for letting us know how frightened you are that we might actually get the word to people you want to keep safely in your bubble until you’re ready to strip them of everything they hold dear, too, and keep you from building a totalitarian state from the ruins of the democracy you’re trying to destroy.
In fact, THANK YOU, lil’ Rog. For validating the protests with your public acknowledgement without even the slightest idea that “sit down and shut up” is a nonsensical response for anyone interested in knowing WHY people are not doing just that. You personally may still have a grade school mindset, but many of us who have to work for a living are well capable of looking past the superficial, and find you nothing more than a scared, inconvenienced liar desperate to retain power.
“And until we do that, I guess we’re going to have it this way.”
I goddamn well hope so, you pedophile defending piece of shit. That and more.
Just stay in your homes, huh? I thought they hated that.
“…go to your homes. Stay in your home and lock your doors. Above all, do not panic. Repeat: go to your homes. Stay in your homes and lock your doors. The situation can be kept under control provided our defense forces are given complete freedom of movement.”
And that was planet of the apes…
I’m a white dude who admittedly has t been very vocal.
Time to do some singing exercises and warm up the old pipes.
“Just submit to our will! Trust us.”
Any free speech absolutist who would like to weigh in?
🦗
[grasshopper sounds]
Why? Because the constitution is not the law of the land anymore? I guess it really hasn’t been ever since the patriot act
If the Americans had the same amount of holiday and paid vacation time as the 1st World European countries, there would be larger and more frequent protests. Especially now! Roger can F-OFF! ICE is not law enforcement, just a bunch of fucking uneducated thugs that would burn the US Constitution,
