Summary
In the news article “Felony charges against BLM protesters are ‘suppression tactic’, experts say,” Adam Gabbatt (2020) discusses how the authorities intend to discourage the anti-racism demonstrators by “overcharging” some of its members (para. 13). In this regard, the author demonstrates several cases when Black Lives Matter (BLM) protestors faced felony charges for illegal behavior where the severity of punishment clearly exceeded the normal level. For instance, Kevin Alfaro could have been sentenced to 18 months for the Tweet where he asked – although using strong words – to share the personal information of the policeman that acted violently against the protestors. Following a similar pattern, the group of demonstrators could be imprisoned for life for splashing the painting and breaking the windows of the building if not for broad public attention. As a result, the such policy aims at making other BLM supporters be scared and thus deter further demonstrations (Gabbatt, 2020, para. 14). On the contrary, the same measures were not applied to protestors against lockdown orders, even though some of them were armed (Gabbatt, 2020, para. 30). Thus, it is concluded that strict felony charges against BLM members primarily seek to suppress the anti-racism movement.
Application
The issue described by Adam Gabbatt in the article under review is of great interest and importance, as it is related to basic civil liberties. As such, they include the right to a fair trial, the right to protest, and the right to keep and bear arms. As for the former, Krutz and Waskiewicz (2019) state that the right not to be a subject of excess or unusual punishment is protected by the Eighth Amendment (p. 144). However, even though the authorities argued that they used uncommonly strict legal penalties to deter further cases of civil disobedience, the courts nevertheless violated the law.
Additionally, the lack of fair trial further restricts civil liberties by spreading fear among the BLM demonstrators to express and defend their views. Indeed, peaceful protests are protected by the First Amendment, which secures the freedom of expression in the form of speech, press, assembly, and petition (Krutz and Waskiewicz, 2019, p. 123). Although the authorities did not explicitly threaten this right, their actions in practice deter people’s will to protest and, therefore, can be considered unlawful. Finally, the last civil right concerns the freedom to keep and bear arms (Krutz and Waskiewicz, 2019, p. 113). In light of Gabbatt’s article, that is the only time when the authorities followed the law.
Analysis
It can be argued that Gabbatt’s article seeks to inform people about the causes of injustice against members of the BLM movement and attempts to persuade readers that such an injustice is explained by racism. For this reason, the author collected and reviewed the number of instances when anti-racial demonstrators faced unfair felony charges. In this regard, despite the fact that Gabbatt generally intends to keep objective language throughout the article, there are certain ways how he tries to promote his views. For instance, the author uses quotes only of the victims and generally reviews all the issues from the victims’ point of view. Gabbatt does not discuss what damage civic disobedience causes and how to deter the potential growth of other instances of illegal behavior without violating basic civil liberties. In a similar vein, the quotes that are used only present the opinions of people who support the idea of the government’s anti-BLM agenda.
Last but not least, the example that is presented at the end of the article stating that none of the anti-lockdown demonstrators were arrested, although they carried guns, is misleading. Indeed, although some of the protestors carried arms, they did not violate the law and, therefore cannot be charged. Without a doubt, such behavior is provoking, but there is no legal basis to detain those people. Therefore, the comparison of widely condemned but legal behavior with illegal actions is not quite valid for the sake of the argument that the writer wants to make.
References
Gabbatt, A. (2020). Felony charges against BLM protesters are a ‘suppression tactic’, experts say. The Guardian. Web.
Krutz, G. S., & Waskiewicz, S. (2019). American government (2nd ed.). OpenStax College, Rice University.