The federal government is afraid of you and me, and it's going to extraordinary means to threaten us if we speak up.Several thousand people who believed the Presidential election had been stolen descended on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in the words of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, "peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Did you school teach the Constitution?
The feds have arrested more than 1,033 who entered their Capitol on January 6, 2021, with approximately 485 federal defendants receiving sentences. Just this week several leaders of the crowd received unusually long sentences.
To make sure everyone gets the message, Enrique Tarrio, who formerly led an organization called Proud Boys, received 22 years in federal prison -- and he wasn't even in Washington on January 6.
Another organization at the Capitol, and fiercely targeted by the feds, is Oath Keepers. Stewart Rhodes, its leader, was sentenced to 18 years. This organization desccribes itself this way:
... a group of proud American Patriots who are dedicated to upholding the Constitution of the United States of America. Our members have rich, diverse backgrounds and include prior and current military, law enforcement, firefighters, first responders and civilians, all of whom have taken a solemn oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Organizations like this are nothing new in America. If your school still taught history, you might have learned about the Sons of Liberty, a group of colonial merchants and tradesmen founded to protest the Stamp Act and other forms of taxation. This group of revolutionists included prominent patriots such aBenedict Arnold, Patrick Henry, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and John Hancock.
Look at this. On December 16, 1773, thousands of colonists convened at a Boston wharf. A meeting was held at the Old South Meeting House where a large group of colonists voted to refuse to pay taxes on the tea or allow the tea to be unloaded, stored, sold or used. That night, a large group of men — many reportedly members of the Sons of Liberty — disguised themselves in Native American garb, boarded docked ships and threw 342 chests of tea into the water.
You know what came next.
Back to January 6. Isaac Yoder will face one year in prison for dressing as George Washington and walking into the US Capitol, speaking to a policeman and walking out. Here's how they got him:
The FBI stalked Yoder for 7 months and then arrested him in a small Missouri town where he works as a locksmith. The FBI finally arrested Isaac in Nevada, Missouri, after months of investigating him and tracking him down in rural Missouri.
Actually, "the don't tread on me" flag was designed by Christopher Gadsden — a general in the Continental Army and congressional delicate — in 1775 during the American Revolution. He wanted it to serve as a symbol warning Britain not to violate Americans’ liberties that would rally support against coercion.
Don't tread on me, Chris Wray.
~ Wallace