When Does Protest Become Crime—Or Terrorism?
This affects the entire country.
Last August, two women stalked an Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent near Los Angeles and then streamed themselves at his house, yelling to locals that their neighbor was an agent. Last month, they were convicted and face time in federal prison. Ironically, they wore masks and glasses to hide their identity, while invading the privacy of the federal agent.
When does protest start to break the law—or even become terrorism?
I’ll define terrorism as using violence to achieve political aims. Most criminals are not terrorists. So, who is? Let’s start with some easy ones.
The Irish Republican Army, Italy’s Red Brigades, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization all murdered and bombed military and civilian targets in pursuit of political goals. At the risk of over-simplifying, these were: ending British rule, establishing a Marxist-Leninist state, and creating a Palestinian state, respectively.
The goals of 1960s radical youth groups such as the Weather Underground in the U.S. and the Baader-Meinhof gang in Germany were more vague; the overthrow of what they saw as the capitalist, imperialist, fascist countries they lived in; maybe world revolution. But still, terrorism.
Today, the Left intentionally makes things appear fuzzier. The 2020 demonstrations, looting, and violence in the wake of the death of George Floyd were not terrorism. We saw plenty of violence, and it was clearly political, but there was not a unified, clearly articulated goal. There was no list of things which the government of Portland, or Minneapolis, or even the federal government could have conceded that would have ended the whole thing and sent everyone home. It was inchoate rage against a vague, “oppressive” system with no specific or achievable policy proposals.
Now let’s look at the recent organized demonstrations against immigration enforcement.
In much of the country, ICE is going about its business of enforcing federal law. They are arresting aliens with no right to be here, many of whom have serious criminal charges or convictions. The most crucial assistance ICE needs is for local jurisdictions to honor their “detainers.” This means handing over criminal suspects or convicts, once their criminal process is complete, to ICE for immigration process.
In some major jurisdictions that refuse to do this, we see street violence: Los Angeles, Portland, and most of all Minneapolis. There, a dangerous combination of dilatory politicians and trained obstructionists has resulted in two deaths and much injury.
In Minneapolis, agitators have been well funded, organized, and trained to move beyond mere speech and into highly coordinated obstruction to impede immigration enforcement.
Holding up signs and speaking is not violence. However, activists have gone way beyond that. They get in the physical space of agents, block operations, set up illegal road blocks, harass officials and private citizens, throw dangerous objects, and intimidate agents through releasing their personal information. Though they demand federal agents be unmasked to reveal their identities, the obstructionists themselves are often fully concealed—like the LA ladies.
Much of the …
This affects the entire country.
Last August, two women stalked an Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent near Los Angeles and then streamed themselves at his house, yelling to locals that their neighbor was an agent. Last month, they were convicted and face time in federal prison. Ironically, they wore masks and glasses to hide their identity, while invading the privacy of the federal agent.
When does protest start to break the law—or even become terrorism?
I’ll define terrorism as using violence to achieve political aims. Most criminals are not terrorists. So, who is? Let’s start with some easy ones.
The Irish Republican Army, Italy’s Red Brigades, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization all murdered and bombed military and civilian targets in pursuit of political goals. At the risk of over-simplifying, these were: ending British rule, establishing a Marxist-Leninist state, and creating a Palestinian state, respectively.
The goals of 1960s radical youth groups such as the Weather Underground in the U.S. and the Baader-Meinhof gang in Germany were more vague; the overthrow of what they saw as the capitalist, imperialist, fascist countries they lived in; maybe world revolution. But still, terrorism.
Today, the Left intentionally makes things appear fuzzier. The 2020 demonstrations, looting, and violence in the wake of the death of George Floyd were not terrorism. We saw plenty of violence, and it was clearly political, but there was not a unified, clearly articulated goal. There was no list of things which the government of Portland, or Minneapolis, or even the federal government could have conceded that would have ended the whole thing and sent everyone home. It was inchoate rage against a vague, “oppressive” system with no specific or achievable policy proposals.
Now let’s look at the recent organized demonstrations against immigration enforcement.
In much of the country, ICE is going about its business of enforcing federal law. They are arresting aliens with no right to be here, many of whom have serious criminal charges or convictions. The most crucial assistance ICE needs is for local jurisdictions to honor their “detainers.” This means handing over criminal suspects or convicts, once their criminal process is complete, to ICE for immigration process.
In some major jurisdictions that refuse to do this, we see street violence: Los Angeles, Portland, and most of all Minneapolis. There, a dangerous combination of dilatory politicians and trained obstructionists has resulted in two deaths and much injury.
In Minneapolis, agitators have been well funded, organized, and trained to move beyond mere speech and into highly coordinated obstruction to impede immigration enforcement.
Holding up signs and speaking is not violence. However, activists have gone way beyond that. They get in the physical space of agents, block operations, set up illegal road blocks, harass officials and private citizens, throw dangerous objects, and intimidate agents through releasing their personal information. Though they demand federal agents be unmasked to reveal their identities, the obstructionists themselves are often fully concealed—like the LA ladies.
Much of the …
When Does Protest Become Crime—Or Terrorism?
This affects the entire country.
Last August, two women stalked an Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent near Los Angeles and then streamed themselves at his house, yelling to locals that their neighbor was an agent. Last month, they were convicted and face time in federal prison. Ironically, they wore masks and glasses to hide their identity, while invading the privacy of the federal agent.
When does protest start to break the law—or even become terrorism?
I’ll define terrorism as using violence to achieve political aims. Most criminals are not terrorists. So, who is? Let’s start with some easy ones.
The Irish Republican Army, Italy’s Red Brigades, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization all murdered and bombed military and civilian targets in pursuit of political goals. At the risk of over-simplifying, these were: ending British rule, establishing a Marxist-Leninist state, and creating a Palestinian state, respectively.
The goals of 1960s radical youth groups such as the Weather Underground in the U.S. and the Baader-Meinhof gang in Germany were more vague; the overthrow of what they saw as the capitalist, imperialist, fascist countries they lived in; maybe world revolution. But still, terrorism.
Today, the Left intentionally makes things appear fuzzier. The 2020 demonstrations, looting, and violence in the wake of the death of George Floyd were not terrorism. We saw plenty of violence, and it was clearly political, but there was not a unified, clearly articulated goal. There was no list of things which the government of Portland, or Minneapolis, or even the federal government could have conceded that would have ended the whole thing and sent everyone home. It was inchoate rage against a vague, “oppressive” system with no specific or achievable policy proposals.
Now let’s look at the recent organized demonstrations against immigration enforcement.
In much of the country, ICE is going about its business of enforcing federal law. They are arresting aliens with no right to be here, many of whom have serious criminal charges or convictions. The most crucial assistance ICE needs is for local jurisdictions to honor their “detainers.” This means handing over criminal suspects or convicts, once their criminal process is complete, to ICE for immigration process.
In some major jurisdictions that refuse to do this, we see street violence: Los Angeles, Portland, and most of all Minneapolis. There, a dangerous combination of dilatory politicians and trained obstructionists has resulted in two deaths and much injury.
In Minneapolis, agitators have been well funded, organized, and trained to move beyond mere speech and into highly coordinated obstruction to impede immigration enforcement.
Holding up signs and speaking is not violence. However, activists have gone way beyond that. They get in the physical space of agents, block operations, set up illegal road blocks, harass officials and private citizens, throw dangerous objects, and intimidate agents through releasing their personal information. Though they demand federal agents be unmasked to reveal their identities, the obstructionists themselves are often fully concealed—like the LA ladies.
Much of the …
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