The Atlantic

First Amendment Rights—If You Agree With the President

Trump’s animosity toward protesters he disagrees with is becoming a policy reality on the state level.
Source: Stephen Maturen / Getty

The First Amendment is no good if it is used to protect one side of the political spectrum but disregarded for the other. Protests in response to the killing of George Floyd have been met with aggressive police tactics, including spraying tear gas and rubber bullets, and sweeping up journalists, elected officials, and hundreds of protesters in major cities such as Houston, , and in mass arrests. The totality of the law-enforcement response to these protests stands in stark contrast to what officers did during anti-lockdown demonstrations in which conservative armed with guns stormed state capitols and walked on public roadways: nothing.

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