Weekly Opinion Editorial
OBEY
THE LAW!
by Steve Fair
On Saturday, a Minneapolis VA nurse, Alex Pretti who was carrying a licensed handgun was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Authorities said Pretti resisted arrest after trying to intervene in the ICE operation. Vice President JD Vance called the protests in Minnesota "engineered chaos" in the wake of the shooting. Three observations:
First, the Constitution guarantees peaceful
protest. The First Amendment protects the right to peaceably assemble. It also guarantees freedom of religion,
speech, the press, and the right to petition the government or redress of
grievances. Assembly is the only right
in the First Amendment that requires more than a lone individual for its
exercise. One can speak alone, but one cannot assemble alone. Moreover, while
some assemblies occur spontaneously, most do not. For this reason, the right to
assembly right extends to preparing to assembly activity, aka 'right of
association,' by the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS). The right to peaceably assembly is extended to
all citizens and all political ideologies and the government is not to impede
that right.
Second, the Constitution does not guarantee hostile assembly. The protests in Minnesota- and in other states- against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been characterized by conflict, unrest, and confrontational conduct toward authorities. Violent protest is not a guaranteed constitutional right. Protestors must abide by the law when assembling. Physically confronting law enforcement officers is usually not going to end well, and that has been the case in the two Minnesota shootings.
Third, let the facts determine what happened. The predictability of how elected officials on both ends of the political spectrum would react is a foregone conclusion. Immediately after the shooting, supporters and critics of ICE had formed a verdict about the situation and were espousing judgment or vindication. Sadly, most elected officials are on auto-pilot, blindly following a predictable pattern.
It is very possible the ICE agents in Minnesota overreacted and were in the wrong. It is also very possible Pretti presented a threat to the agents. The public would be wise to allow independent investigators, with no political agenda, conduct a through investigation and let the facts speak for themselves. If the agents overreacted and are in the wrong, they should pay the price.
One of the fundamental rights Americans have is
the right to disagree with their government without fear of being punished or retaliated
against. It should concern every
American when federal law enforcement officers shoot protestors. An independent, unbiased investigation should
be done and the chips fall where they may.
For years, Republicans referred to federal law enforcement as 'jackbooted federal agents.' Conservative Republicans regularly criticized federal agents as acting too authoritarian, using heavy handed tactics and government overreach. Ironically, many of those same people are now supporting the storm troopers in this battle.
In May 1970, four unarmed college students were killed and nine wounded by the Ohio National Guard on the Kent State University campus, while protesting the expanding involvement in the Vietnam War. It was an avoidable tragedy and while there was bad behavior on both sides, the unwillingness of the protestors to simply obey the law was the problem.
Americans have a right to engage in 'organized chaos,' but they should remember what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said: "Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence."
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