Free DC response to Trump’s August 25 executive orders
Washington DC — On Monday August 25, Donald Trump issued executive orders to end cashless bail, detain people who have not been convicted of any crime, and establish new militarized police forces in DC tasked with “quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety and order whenever the circumstances necessitate.”
In response, Free DC issued the following statement:
“Trump is laying the groundwork to quell all public dissent to his agenda. If he is successful, it would spell the end of American democracy. We refuse to allow that to happen.
“Freedom of speech and the right to peaceably assemble are rights that are foundational to democracy in the United States. The Posse Comitatus Act further prevents the use of the military domestically. Only dictators create special police forces that arrest people for exercising these rights, and that’s what today’s Executive Orders are attempting to do.
“Members of the armed services and elected leaders all swear an oath to ‘defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.’ That oath was created for moments like this.
“Members of the National Guard and military, we call on you to refuse to comply with these unconstitutional orders.
“Members of the bar, we call on you to use every tool at your disposal to stop these Executive Orders from being implemented.
“Members of Congress, we call on you to begin articles of impeachment, and to clearly label these orders as the acts of a domestic enemy.
“And members of the public who are neighbors, parents, consumers, tax payers, jurors, and employees, we call on each of you to stand with the people of DC and the concept of democracy in the United States. Together we need to make sure that today’s orders are the beginning of the end of the Trump administration.”
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Free DC is the renewed campaign to protect DC Home Rule and win lasting dignity for the people of the District of Columbia. Learn more and get involved at FreeDCproject.org.
