Thread by @AliVelshi

1/10
Abraham Lincoln described America’s government as being “of the people, by the people & for the people.” But the federal government today—the parts we can see in Portland, OR—doesn’t look like a government of the people, or one for the people. #velshi

2/10
One cannot witness federal agents in Portland & arrive at any conclusion other than what Trump’s administration is doing is unconstitutional. Even parts of the government seem to know it's wrong… the DOJ Inspector general is investigating the agency's own response. #velshi

3/10
The 1st Amendment of the Constitution explicitly prevents the government from “prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” That’s the right to protest. #velshi

For the government to ignore the words of the 1st Amendment, or to bend them so that the presence of federal troops at demonstrations are seen as necessary to counter the proportionately few moments of violence, points us collectively down a road to authoritarianism. #velshi

5/10
Like a lazy weekend drive, the road to authoritarianism is slow & the bends are almost imperceptible. Authoritarianism doesn’t just happen. Laws start to be ignored. Norms are set aside. They tell us it's about public safety & keeping the peace. #velshi

6/10
What is happening in Portland portends a slide away from democracy & toward fascism in this country. It is illiberal. It is anti-American. It should trouble us all, deeply. #velshi

7/10
Protest is the tool of the voiceless. Literally. Because a single voice is hard to hear, but the voices of dozens gets media coverage. The voices of thousands get laws changed. The voices of tens of thousands change the world. #velshi

8/10
Protest is how we got America in the first place. Without protest, America would still be a British colony, women still wouldn’t be able to vote & you could still be fired because you love someone of the same gender or someone of a different race. #velshi

9/10
Protest—whatever side of the issue you are on—is something our government “of the people” should safeguard. America has done so, grudgingly, in the past: during the March from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 & in Little Rock in 1957. #velshi

10/10
Protest is the sound of democracy in action. Our ability to protest without harassment & without fear of arrest & detention should be celebrated, encouraged & protected by the government of the United States of America. #velshi