For decades, we have been warned about unchecked federal power.
In 1995, National Rifle Association (NRA) President Wayne LaPierre used the phrase “jack-booted government thugs,” arguing that armed agents operating without real accountability can threaten liberty. At the time, that quote became a rallying cry for people who believed the Constitution exists primarily to restrain government abuse and force.
Where is that conviction now? Where are the voices that exploded over COVID masking rules — waving Christopher Gadsen’s “Don’t Tread on Me” flags and shouting about government overreach?
They’re surprisingly quiet, even as top federal officials say out loud that ordinary citizens shouldn’t be allowed to peacefully protest or legally carry a weapon, as guaranteed by our Bill of Rights.
Now, American citizens are being detained in “Kavanaugh Stops,” or most recently, dying at the hands of federal authorities. Last month, Renée Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during federal enforcement actions in south Minneapolis.
In Good’s case, the Justice Department, within hours of the shooting, said the agent acted in self-defense and refused to open an investigation. Local authorities were denied access to evidence. The federal Civil Rights Division didn’t take it up either. And multiple federal officials reportedly resigned in protest of the decision by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice.
Ask yourself this: If a local deputy shot and killed someone and the Sheriff department announced, “We’re not investigating — we’re satisfied” … would you accept that? Of course not. In a constitutional republic, accountability isn’t optional.
The Justice Department did open an investigation into Pretti’s death — but only after hundreds of thousands of people saw video that looked less like a legal law enforcement action, and more like an outright execution by masked federal agents.
ICE was created after 9/11 with a clear mission: Enforce immigration law, protect the borders, and stop contraband that threatens public safety and national security. That mission was built on protection.
Today, for many Americans, especially those of color, ICE looks unmoored from that purpose. Agents operate in street clothes with masks. They use unmarked vehicles. They often don’t clearly identify themselves.
In a free society, people are taught to be wary of strangers who try to physically force them into vans with no windows. Fear in that moment isn’t “noncompliance” as the government claims, it’s human emotion and self-defense.
The founders of this nation did not give any federal employee the power of judge, jury, and executioner. That line is the difference between a republic and something far darker.
But right now, it feels like the line has been crossed. Shots were fired. Local authorities have been shut out. Federal agencies are policing themselves. And leaders in Washington are already writing the conclusion.
We don’t only get to “fear” tyranny, when the inconvenience affects our personal lives. Constitutional principles don’t turn on and off based on who’s in power or who’s in the crosshairs.
Liberty either applies to everyone — or none of us have it.
Don’t Tread on Me
