American Democracy is at a Pivotal Moment and None of Us Should be Silent

By Ben Jealous — 

None of us should be silent about the recent use of federal agents by this administration to bully, arrest, and investigate political opponents. Just as none of us should accept as normal or okay its use of the military against Americans exercising their First Amendment rights.

Donald Trump’s gleeful embrace of fascist tactics is on display almost daily. As he tries to run roughshod over the courts and sics federal agents on members of Congress and other public officials, we need to sound every alarm we can about the threats to checks and balance and American democracy itself.

The violent treatment of US Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) earlier this month at a press conference being held in Los Angeles by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is just one recent example.

Sen. Padilla spoke up, identified himself, and tried to ask a question. For that, he was physically forced out of the room, pushed to the ground, and handcuffed.

Noem and others in the Trump administration have said Sen. Padilla forced his way into the press conference, “charged” Noem at the podium, and failed to identify himself. Video and witness accounts of the event seem to expose that as a pack of lies.

Attempting to provide cover for the administration, cries of “political theater!” from the Far Right predictably filled the airwaves and online feeds. But it couldn’t be clearer that Sen. Padilla did everything right. He was escorted by a National Guardsman and an FBI agent into the building and then into Sec. Noem’s press briefing. He had even asked permission first to make sure it was okay for him to go in. According to the senator:

“They opened the door for me, they walked in and were standing near me as I was listening for several minutes during the press conference. And then when I felt compelled to start asking questions, before I could get two or three words out, there were hands on me, and you saw what happened next. So this was not theatrics. This was not me crashing an event. You can’t get more secure than being in an FBI office in the second-largest city in America.”

Last month, members of Congress joined the mayor of Newark, NJ to visit a controversial ICE detention facility in the city. US Representative LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) was arrested when an altercation arose between security and the delegation of elected officials.

It is worth noting that a cloud of lies from the administration surrounded that incident as it did for the incident with Sen. Padilla. The dishonesty of the administration’s story about what happened at the detention center is exposed in how it keeps shifting.

At first, the Trump administration said the officials “stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility.” But an indictment against Rep. McIver issued this month states the lawmakers peacefully entered through an open security gate and then proceeded to an interior reception area.

Rep. McIver stated, “the facts of this case will prove I was simply doing my job,” and called her arrest and subsequent indictment “a brazen attempt at political intimidation.” She is right. And the condemnation of her treatment and the charges filed against her have been bipartisan – even if Trump’s enablers in this current Congress have not yet found the backbone to speak out as some former Republican members have.

It is well within the reasonable duties of a member of Congress to show up and ask questions at press conferences or sites of concern. Members of Congress serve as representatives of their constituents and are expected to advocate for their views and needs.

Congressional authority to investigate and exercise oversight is not limited to formal committee hearings. Attending press conferences and visiting sites like the New Jersey ICE facility allow members to gather information, speak on behalf of their constituents, and communicate with the public.

For years, Trump mischaracterized any attempts to hold him accountable for his egregious lawbreaking as the “weaponization” of law enforcement against him and his followers. Now we see it was all a precursor to his actual attempts to weaponize law enforcement against those who he deems his political opponents.

Speak out. Spread the word and keep telling the truth. Show your elected officials who are standing up to the MAGA assault on democracy your support. And if your elected officials are echoing this administration’s lies or whitewashing its authoritarian lawlessness, let them hear your anger.

Democracy is worth fighting for. Our rights are worth fighting for. When we organize, when we stand together, We the People are more powerful than democracy’s foes. America can survive and the truth can still win. We just cannot shy away from the fight. And that fight is here.

Ben Jealous is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.