It seems the authoritarian left is growing even more authoritarian as of late, especially when it comes to trying to prevent people from saying things they don’t like. Over the past year, there have been a growing number of stories in which leftists have used the government to suppress speech or punish people for expressing their views.
If I’m reading these political tea leaves correctly, I think we can expect to see these efforts increase and intensify over the next year – especially with election season coming.
Let’s start with former President Donald Trump. You have probably already read up on the latest Justice Department indictment. The agency is hurling a slew of charges against him related to the aftermath of the 2020 election, particularly the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol building.
The indictment accuses the former president of conspiracy to defraud the United States, along with other crimes related to his claims that the election was stolen from him. The DOJ’s case will likely hinge on questions of whether Trump believed his own claims about the results of the election.
The Justice Department is also implicating six alleged co-conspirators in the supposed fraud. It also references conversations Trump had with officials in battleground states in which he pressured them to find ways to swing the election his way.
John Lauro, an attorney representing Trump in this case, excoriated the Justice Department, accusing them of trying to attack “free speech” and “political speech.”
“This is an attack on free speech and political advocacy. And there’s nothing that’s more protected under the First Amendment than political speech,” the lawyer said during an interview. “Our defense is going to be focusing on the fact that what we have now is an administration that has criminalized the free speech and advocacy of a prior administration during the time that there’s a political election going on. That’s unprecedented.”
Next, we have a situation in Watertown, Wisconsin where police officers arrested a group of young Christians for preaching the gospel and protesting at a public event featuring drag queens performing for children. Officers accosted the young men for exercising their right to free speech in a public area. This story is an example of local governments using the force of government to stifle people from expressing views of which they do not approve.
Last, but certainly not least, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) made some waves when he led a group of far-leftist senators in writing a letter to the Justice Department urging the agency to prosecute folks in the fossil fuel industry for supposedly spreading misinformation about climate change. Yes, you read that right. Sanders and company want the DOJ to send men with guns and badges to toss fossil fuel executives into jail cells for publicly contradicting the Democrat-approved narrative on climate change.
If this trend continues, it ain’t looking too good for free speech in America.
In each of these cases, those engaging in protected speech are being targeted by the authorities for their opinions. It reveals just how far authoritarians are willing to go to keep their political opposition from speaking.
Freedom of expression is a fundamental natural right. But the left has essentially jettisoned all pretense of caring about the First Amendment – especially when it comes to those who disagree with them. Up until this point, they have relied on other means to silence their opposition. Cancel culture, internet censorship, and shouting down speeches by prominent conservatives and libertarians are all examples of tactics these people have employed to ensure their voices are the only ones people are allowed to hear.
As much as these methods have enraged those who actually value speech, they pale in comparison to what it appears the left is trying to do currently. Using the power of the government to threaten people who are guilty of wrongthink is the logical, and tyrannical, endgame when you draw this out to its logical conclusion. The most effective way to silence people is by using the threat of government-sanctioned violence to imprison those who dare to express ideas progressives find objectionable.
Not only is this tyrannical, but it also has a chilling effect on free speech. Targeting Trump, fossil fuel executives, and young Christians is intended to have a specific effect: Intimidating people into censoring themselves. I wish I could say differently, but I expect to see more of these efforts to use the government to suppress speech. Cancel culture and internet censorship only go so far, right? The ultimate method for authoritarians to get their way is to have the power of the state behind them. Unfortunately, that’s what these people are gunning for.
