Imo what we're seeing in the US now is the visible "blooming" of things which have been growing and metastasizing since the 80's.
I am not longer baffled.
(Not literally no one, but few enough people that they effectively don't matter.)
There hasn't actually been a complete lack of such pushback from traditional conservatives; the surviving icons of traditional conservatism have often been vocal anti-Trumpers.
What it turns out is that, while some of the former luminaries are still alive and active, there are, as far as political impact goes, no traditional conservatives left.
There is nuance and balance to be had in law, your rights end where others begin.
Isn't this exactly what the MAGA crowd has professed to believe since 1/6/2021?
They were fine storming government buildings with guns in hand during covid. They considered the Bundy brothers and Kyle Rittenhouse to be heroes and patriots.
These rights are absolute and inalienable, granted by God as long as you're "white and right." Otherwise it's time to crack skulls.
I'd be very surprised if the punishments for impeding or injuring are equal, despite the two crimes being described in the same statute. Afaik sentencing guidelines take into account more than just the charge itself.
> According to the indictment, Mavalwalla and his co-defendants “physically blocked the drive-way of the federal facility and/or physically pushed against officers despite orders to disperse and efforts to remove them from the property”.
And it was recorded and posted to Instagram:
> A one-minute video posted on Instagram shows the army veteran briefly jostle with an officer whose face is covered by a ski mask and sunglasses. Mavalwalla then locks arms with other demonstrators to block the gate.
Sidestepping the political hot topic, if you use Facebook to coordinate with others to block federal officers from doing their job and then someone from your group records it and posts it to Instagram, your lawyer is going to have a hard time finding a way out of charges like this.
nomel•4h ago
> Mavalwalla was one of hundreds of people to respond to a 11 June social media post from the former president of the Spokane city council that encouraged protesters to block an Ice transport they believed would carry two Venezuelan immigrants who were in the country legally, petitioning for asylum when they were detained.
> “I am going to sit in front of the bus,” Ben Stuckart, the former city council president, wrote. “Feel free to join me.”
With this "problem" for the prosecutors quoted:
> In this case, prosecutors would just have to prove that defendants agreed in concert to impede or injure an officer.
malcolmgreaves•3h ago
nomel•2h ago
IANAL, but it appears to be criminal: 18 U.S.C. 111
This does not appear to be covered under "peaceful protest": https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights
rafram•3h ago
So I would caution against reading a short description of the law and thinking it's an open-and-shut case against the protesters.
nomel•3h ago
> In response to the imprisonment of two Harney County ranchers, who were prosecuted for arson, Ammon and Ryan led a group of activists in an occupation of the Malheur national wildlife refuge, an obscure sanctuary for birds.
> Ammon declared that he and other protesters, some who openly carried firearms and took over government buildings and equipment, would stay until the ranchers were freed and the refuge land was given to locals to control.
rafram•3h ago
throwawayffffas•2h ago