OPINION:
Why is it that people’s brains sort of turn off when it comes to free speech in this country (“Entrenched pro-Palestinian protests threaten to spoil college graduations, Biden addresses,” web, May 1)?
They seem to think the First Amendment gives them the right to scream “Death to America!” and “We are Hamas!” They think they can take over college campuses because they have a right to protest against their own country. Let me enlighten those miscreants about their rights.
As a former law enforcement officer, I can tell you that when I was on the force, where I lived there was a law against making threats — so screaming “we are going to kill you” would have been illegal. The fact that these protesters are also calling for the killing of our president and congressional representatives makes theirs a threat to our government, which is an act of insurrection. That means it’s a federal offense.
Screaming “We are Hamas!” is treason under the Constitution, Article 3, Section 3 (“levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort”).
To charge the protesters with simple trespassing is an insult to American justice system. These people are in effect squatting and should have been removed as soon as their tents went up.
Another law with which I am familiar is restricting someone from being able to move freely. In some states this is considered a form of kidnapping, but not all states have that law. So bridges can be blocked and terrorized students can be surrounded by angry crowds of protesters.
All the foreign instigators of these protests — whether here illegally or on visas — should be arrested and deported posthaste.
GREGORY J. TOPLIFF
Aiken, South Carolina
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