Air fresheners. They’ve been a ubiquitous accessory in American vehicles for decades. They’ve also become a justification for police officers around the country to initiate traffic stops.
Police contend that dangling air fresheners (or tassels, or fuzzy dice, or pandemic masks) can obstruct driver views in ways that violate laws.
But like other low-level issues, such as loud mufflers, tinted windows or expired registrations, it is ripe for selective enforcement.
In one case we looked at, a traffic stop supposedly focused on a pink tree air freshener led a trooper to give a warning. But he also notified immigration officers, who came to the scene. It ended in prison time and deportation for the driver.
200 left-wing protesters are on the streets in Portland right now, with anti-Biden and anti-police messages.
"We are ungovernable," one sign says.
The Portland crowd has now gone to the local headquarters of the Democratic Party, smashing windows and writing "Fuck Biden"
Seeing some criticism for calling the crowd "left wing," which was my shorthand to make clear that it isn't Trump supporters on the streets of Portland. The longer version is that the crowd is a mix of racial-justice, anti-fascist, anarchist, youth liberation, etc