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To the editor:
You are correct, "We cannot look away," (Feb 4.) Rather, we need to look more closely. Most of us know that when a teacher sees two kids fighting, the teacher often sees the second, retaliation blow and falsely labels that person the instigator.
Most people know there are limits to protected free speech, the common example is that you cannot yell "fire" in a crowded theater. Over the decades, SCOTUS has defined these limits. Writing for a unanimous court in Chaplinsky v New Hampshire (1942), Justice Francis W. Murphy held that "…written or spoken words are exempt from First Amendment protection when they… fail to contribute to the expression of ideas with social value for the truth." In Virginia v Black (2003), Sandra Day O'Conner wrote, "...(when) a speaker directs a threat to a person or group of persons with the intent of placing the victim in fear of bodily harm or death, (it) is not protected speech."
So, getting a permit to peacefully speak at a rally (depending on content) or march in protest is protected. Walking down the street, acting the same way as the lookout for a burglar would act by blowing a whistle to alert someone it is time to scram because the police are coming, makes you an accomplice to the crime, or someone trying to obstruct the police, also a crime.
Rather than ignoring the role of the person acting to obstruct law enforcement activities, we should look at what happens when there is cooperation.
Places like Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tenn., and New Orleans, where local law enforcement worked with federal law enforcement, violent crime decreased.
Contrast Florida with Minnesota. Similar number of illegals arrested, but with police cooperation it was done quietly with minimal disruption.
Is the intent of Minnesota protesters to contribute social value or make ICE agents fear bodily harm? When did spitting at law officers become protected speech? When did throwing things at people (especially law enforcement) stop being a form of assault?
Whistles to warn criminals, video to intimidate police, citizens at road blocks checking cars for ICE officers and using cars to block traffic are acts akin to the kid throwing the first punch.
The media should not fall into the trap of placing all the blame on the retaliation. As the editor pointed out, excessive retaliation by law enforcement should not be ignored and those who use excessive force, held accountable.
But, do not forget the instigators or the politicians encouraging them. They, too, should be held accountable. In retrospect, if Alex Pretti been arrested, fined and issued a restraining order to stay away from ICE agents after he spit and attacked them, he might be alive today.
Michael Raab
Sanibel