The state should never be expanded — no matter how politically advantageous it seems at the time.

“Don’t dare call them protesters,” Joe Biden famously said after the largely unarmed mob of pro-Trump hooligans stormed the capitol to take selfies with cops, hang from rafters, sit in politicians’ chairs, and steal memorabilia like they were frat boys. “They were a riotous mob. Insurrectionists. Domestic terrorists. It’s that basic. It’s that simple,” he said, later comparing the riot to an act of “sedition.”

While there have certainly been some revelations about what went on at the capitol that day, like the violence committed by a very small handful of those who were duped into thinking they could reverse the election results, the overwhelming majority of them were entirely peaceful. Despite this fact, politicians hellbent on stoking fear and hatred in America have incessantly referred to this event as if it were one of, if not the darkest day in American history.

One of the most deranged takes we’ve seen are politicians comparing it to 9/11… a day on which thousands of Americans were slaughtered. Despite what the media has said, no one was killed that day except for Ashli Babbitt — and she was a rioter — not a victim of the rioters.

The lies and half-truths spun about the reality of that day have led to hundreds of people being charged and put in cages for exorbitant lengths of time. The state has used this moment as a means to widen the scope of what is considered “extremism” and “domestic terrorism” and the recent videos of the Q-Anon shaman being led around by cops in the capitol show how distorted their views are.

Jacob Chansley, the so-called “QAnon Shaman,” was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the US Capitol riot. He was unarmed, had a police escort, and didn’t harm a single person. Chansley is one of more than 400 people who have faced similar persecution, and while many of the folks deserve to be in jail for their crimes that day, others have been caught up in the dragnet of politics and are being sacrificed to the alter of big government as examples.

Unfortunately, over the last 2 years, the left has cheered for this persecution and the persecution of all those involved. They not only stayed silent as “domestic terrorism” was used to expand the American police state, but they begged for it. Last year, the House passed the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act using Jan. 6 and the Buffalo shooting as the impetus, and now, the chickens are coming home to roost.

TFTP warned last year about the desire of the federal government to push a domestic version of the Patriot Act’s material-support provision, which criminalizes providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

We warned that in this act, “Support” is a broadly interpreted term that could include participation in propaganda activities, civil protest, fundraising, even group membership—with no requirement to show any connection to furthering terrorism. We pointed out that this could encompass tens of millions of Americans.

Guess what… now it is.

Currently in Atlanta, Georgia, mass protests are underway by political activists attempting to prevent the construction of “Cop City.” Cop City is the nickname given to the monumental police training center which is expected to cost $90 million and take up over 85 acres, with the “remaining portion of the 265-acre property as greenspace,” according to the center’s website.

While the construction of a massive police/military base in the Atlanta area was enough to cause outrage, the center will also reportedly wipe out a large portion of old-growth forest. For months, people have been protesting the construction of Cop City, and for months, they’ve been getting arrested for it.

The same expansive police state powers cheered on by the Left after Jan. 6 are now being used against them. As the Intercept reports, a total of 42 participants in the Stop Cop City struggle now face state domestic terror charges, as 19 individuals were previously hit with the same charges in the last two months on equally weak grounds.

“It’s collective punishment. The police are trying to establish a de-facto norm that anyone who associates with a political movement will be attacked and charged for the actions of any other supporter of that movement,” said Marlon Kautz, an Atlanta-based organizer with the Atlanta Solidarity Fund. “As a law enforcement strategy, it’s utterly incompetent and ignorant of how the law works. But as a strategy for repressing a political movement, it makes a lot of sense.”

It’s almost like TFTP and all others not blinded by party politics have been saying this since day one.

It is high time people begin to realize that freedom is not a left or right issue… it’s a human issue. It’s not about choosing between one oppressive government or another, it’s about recognizing that government itself is the problem and it should never be expanded — no matter how politically advantageous it seems at the time. It’s time to realize that it is not about left versus right but rather us versus the state.

Article posted with permission from Matt Agorist