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.
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
This is actually a good sign. It’s proof that the demonstration is working. The people that need to be are beginning to become exasperated with the situation.
Press on, press harder. They will do more violence before this is over, but they must be given no ground. No safe haven. They must never feel as though they’ve secured any small victory.