Federal Agents 'Clash' with Citizens, Not 'Clash' with the Bill of Rights
AP reports 'tensions flare' in Minnesota as federal agents use tear gas on protesters demonstrating against a DHS immigration surge – a surge ICE itself called its 'largest enforcement operation ever.' What the AP story minimizes is the lawsuit filed by Minnesota's state and local leaders, accusing the Trump administration of violating First Amendment rights by targeting a 'progressive state.'
Apparently, actively suppressing dissent against federal overreach in a state challenging said overreach now constitutes mere 'tension,' not a constitutional crisis. One might wonder why the Department of Homeland Security needed 2,000 extra agents to conduct 'enforcement' (which somehow led to a fatal shooting), while simultaneously claiming to respect 'free speech.' This isn’t a 'clash'; it’s a
government deployment against its citizens for exercising protected rights, which, in a democracy, is meant to be the unthinkable . The irony is as thick as the tear gas.