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Federal law enforcement agents to Chicago, Albuquerque

30 points| colinprince | 5 years ago |cbc.ca | reply

21 comments

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[+] schaefer|5 years ago|reply
Donald is openly dehumanizing US citizens that have political views contrary to his own (and indeed, contrary to HIM).

But more than that, he is using Federal Officers to inflict violence on protestors. True, some protestors have been violent(mostly to property, but not entirely), but Federal agents are also using force on clearly peaceful protestors.

As a US citizen myself, I am speechless. How is this our reality?

But it doesn't go without my notice that this is EXACTLY the treatment that African Americans are protesting. And now, allies of the BLM movement are subject some of the same dehumanizing and violent treatment from law enforcement that we are protesting against, regardless of race.

[+] baybal2|5 years ago|reply
> As a US citizen myself, I am speechless. How is this our reality?

This is exactly how many Russians felt when they saw the constitution effectively annulled in 2003.

Back then nobody could've believed the USSR can return, and people were laughing at the few who were smart to freak out about that.

Democracy is a really fragile thing. It really can disappear overnight.

One day, you wake up, turn on the news, and you drop your jaw. Just like this.

[+] r00fus|5 years ago|reply
It happens when the oversight has been pared back over the years and finally outright ignored. It happens when an administration decides to exploit those vulnerabilities and "norms" (ie, loopholes because there isn't an actual law that holds a government officials accountable).
[+] dragonwriter|5 years ago|reply
> Donald is openly dehumanizing US citizens that have political views contrary to his own

That's true, but somewhat beside the point. He's using the flimsiest pretext to do things in the most provocative way possible as a deliberate attempt to cause violent radicalization on both sides and provide pretext for further escalation and executive authoritarian action, and deliberately targeting locations that will assure that the resulting chaos and it's hoped-for adverse effects on election administration redounds to his electoral advantage and, failing that, that the chaos itself provides a pretext for his openly-telegraphed backup tactic of rejecting the election results.

[+] diffrinse|5 years ago|reply
The article highlights the warrant and application of Feds is to investigate and eliminate gangs, not the protests. It might end up targeting protestors anyway, but they're using the cover of Chicago's annual summer murder rate spike (which has been going on since I was a child in the early 90s at least).
[+] vayeate|5 years ago|reply
99% of the non-property violence has been conducted by the police
[+] zoomablemind|5 years ago|reply
Out of curiosity, political aspect aside, who is going to foot the bill for this added effort, the Fed govt or it will be somehow forwarded to the city/state or subtracted from its Fed funding, like for some kind of mandatory service?
[+] diffrinse|5 years ago|reply
Maybe this is where USPS' money went
[+] bitdotdash|5 years ago|reply
Meddling in local enforcement, despite push-back from state and local authorities? What could possible go wrong...
[+] zdragnar|5 years ago|reply
Considering that, at least in chicago, the police requested federal assistance, it seems like the pushback is more of a political game played by politicians than the reality on the ground.
[+] Vivtek|5 years ago|reply
"Sending federal agents to help localities is not uncommon."

Sending them against the express will of the localities, however, is probably illegal.

[+] AnimalMuppet|5 years ago|reply
Depends. If I understand correctly, sending them to protect federal property is legit, regardless of the will of the localities. Sending them to help enforce local laws, without the desire/permission of the locality, is not.