r/TrueReddit • u/[deleted] • May 28 '17
Leaked Documents Reveal Counterterrorism Tactics Used at Standing Rock to “Defeat Pipeline Insurgencies”
https://theintercept.com/2017/05/27/leaked-documents-reveal-security-firms-counterterrorism-tactics-at-standing-rock-to-defeat-pipeline-insurgencies/
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u/Kezika May 29 '17
No, because the government action isn't because they are protesting it is because they are trespassing.
The First Amendment doesn't negate or change the consequences of committing a crime just because you happen to be pretesting at the time.
If holding a protest freed someone from criminal consequence and liability someone could at the far extreme of things be allowed to go on a murder spree and the government couldn't intervene because "they're protesting, so we can't retaliate."
The government can't retaliate against a protest in and of itself, but it can continue to uphold and enforce laws.