Stormy Time for the Republic

One of the requirements for a healthy society is a functioning justice system. For a justice system to function, the people in the society must believe it is fair and impartial.  This does not mean the justice system must be perfect, it can and has made some occasional honest mistakes.  It simply means the system should get it mostly right most of the time and treat everyone equally.  If the system does this, and the people believe in and trust the system, it can keep functioning as one of the legs on which society stands.  What happens if our system stops being fair and impartial, or if half the country believes it is no longer fair or impartial?  I do not know exactly, because no one can really know, but I imagine it will lead to violence.  Let me be clear from the start, I do not want violence.  I do not want our system to collapse.  I am a patriot and I love this country.  I have children and want them to flourish and for that to happen, we need to maintain a functioning, orderly society.

After George Floyd’s death in May of 2020, riots broke out across the country which killed dozens of people and caused billions of dollars in property damage.  Law enforcement agencies sat back and allowed the riots to continue, for months in some places, largely out of fear of the sensitive topic at the center of the riots.  The rioters were fed a false narrative that police were killing unarmed black men at a rate sometimes described as a “genocide” and they took to the streets to protest the against the police.  Most agencies can shut down these types of events in short order, but in this case, they were hesitant to do so because the anger was directed at the police departments.  Usually, a protest will be about a specific topic not involving the police, it will escalate into a riot, and then the police will come in as an uninvolved third party and shut it down.  You see this currently with the Israel/Palestine conflict where protesters show up to a city council meeting, college campus, or other public place.  If at some point during these assemblies the actions of the protestors are deemed unlawful, the police will disperse the participants.  In the summer of 2020, the rioters were targeting the police which put law enforcement in the difficult position of escalating the conflict if they moved in to shut it down.  Police departments were forced to balance the need to maintain order and protect lives and property with the need to not cause another incident that would make the riots worse.  As a result, comparatively few arrests were made, and the rioting dragged on unnecessarily.

Six and a half months later, right after the 2020 election, right wing protesters showed up at our nation’s capital on January 6, 2021.  They believed the election was rigged and showed up to protest the joint session of congress which was confirming the election results.  This protest escalated into a riot where the participants clashed with police and eventually breached the U.S. Capitol.  The joint session was postponed, and the elected officials were evacuated.  One police officer, Brian Sicknick, suffered a stroke during the riot and later died in a hospital.  Four protesters also died from various causes, but only one of them died from violence.  Her name was Ashli Babbitt, and she was shot to death by a United States Capitol Police officer.  After a few hours, the riot ended, and the protestors dispersed.  According to the Department of Justice, in the 40 months since the J6 riot, more than 1,424 people have been arrested, and 884 people have been sentenced.

While there are many differences between these two events, the George Floyd riots can be politically categorized as left wing and the J6 riot as right wing.  I am not advocating for either one of these events.  I think they were both wrong, but I can understand where the participants from both events were coming from and why they were upset.  One thing is clear: the government’s response to these events was disproportionately larger for the J6 riot than it was to the George Floyd riots.  If you are left leaning you might say the response was appropriate because this was an “insurrection” or “an attack on our democracy”.  If you are right leaning you might point out that the J6 people believed the election was stolen so they went to the place where the election was being confirmed, but the George Floyd rioters believed the cops were racist-so they looted Target and burned down Wendy’s.  Whatever your opinion is, you can see why the Trump supporters feel they are being unfairly targeted.

Now fast forward to the most recent criminal case brought against Donald Trump.  In 2006 he had an extramarital affair with a porn star named Stormy Daniels.  In 2016, he paid her $130,000 dollars to not go public with the story.  The prosecution’s case is that this payment was made to keep the story from harming his presidential campaign and therefore, it was a campaign contribution.  Since he did not report this as a campaign contribution, and instead reported it as a legal expense, the prosecution alleged he falsified business records.  The payments were made in monthly installments over a one-year period which included 11 checks, 11 invoices, and 12 vouchers.  This made a total of 34 falsified business records and on May 31, 2024 he was found guilty of 34 counts, all felonies, of falsifying business records.  His sentencing is set for July 11.

I have been a cop for almost 17 years.  I have arrested murderers, rapists, and child molesters, and I have testified in court hundreds of times.  I have never seen a single case where someone was charged, much less convicted, with 34 felonies.  Donald Trump did not rape or murder anyone.  He had consensual sex with another adult and then paid her money, which she accepted, to not tell anyone about the encounter.  New York’s case against him is that he falsely recorded that payment.  Not that he hurt anyone.  Not that he stole anything, broke anything, or inconvenienced any other person in any way.  Just that he falsely recorded the payment. 34 felonies.

I am not asking anyone to like or to support the former president.  I understand if you hate him and do not want him to win the upcoming election.  But just remember that half the country does like him and does want him to win the election.  That half also feels the justice system has turned against them after watching the disproportionate prosecution of the J6 rioters versus the George Floyd rioters.  Again, I’m not advocating for the illegal activity of the J6ers, but you don’t have to agree with them to recognize why they feel this way.  With the sentencing and the election just around the corner, we are really at a crossroads.

In the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.”  What will happen if the judge decides to send Trump to jail?  Is that half of the country going to believe our justice system is just?  If they no longer think the justice system is real, and is only a weapon used by their political opponents to punish and defeat them and their candidate, what are they supposed to do?  Why would they not show up armed and ready to rally around him?  Why would they not respond with, “No you are not going to take him”?  Why would they not assert their right stated by our founders “to alter or to abolish” their unjust government?  If they make their stand, how does the government respond?  How does this de-escalate? Let me be clear, I am not advocating for violence.  I love my country and want it to continue to prosper for my children and grandchildren which is why I am concerned for what comes next.  The optimist in me thinks the people making these decisions are stupid or blinded by their hatred for Trump.  The pessimist says they know exactly what they are doing and that they want a civil war.  That this is the intentional opening act for the dark deeds which they are preparing. 

I am not asking anyone to like Trump.  I am not saying you should agree with his supporters.  I am saying you should recognize their point of view even, and especially if you disagree, and understand the gravity of the situation we are facing.  This is not about one man or one specious case against him.  This is about half the country and their trust in our system.  This is about not pushing them so far, they feel they have no peaceful recourse.  For those seeking to get Trump by any means necessary, please stop for the sake of our nation.  Beat him at the ballot box, not with nonsensical criminal cases.  For everyone else, please pray for our republic.