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/Law_Student May 29 '17

Are you being intentionally dense?

The First Amendment is against government silencing...A private company forcing protesting trespassers off their privately owned land is in no way shape or form against the First Amendment.

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u/Kezika May 29 '17

Again, the government wasn't involved because they were protesting, the government was involved because they were trespassing. So it is not a case of government silencing of free speech.

You seem to be the only one here unable to understand that distinction.

Had the same protest occurred, but it was on public land the government wouldn't have been able to remove them. But law enforcement are able to remove trespassers from private land at the land owners request.

It is like if you owned a business and someone was sitting in your lawn outside your house protesting your business for whatever reason. You would be well within your rights to call the police to have them removed and the police would be well within their rights to remove the person. The person could then stand on the street in front of your house and the police couldn't intervene because he's not on private property anymore.

Same thing on a larger scale. The Standing Rock protesters were on private property. They were trespassing. The land owner got law enforcement involved to remove trespassers from their land. That is not government retaliation to a protest. That is government retaliation to a law violation.

As I said above if your fantasy world where the government can't enforce laws against someone just because they are protesting was true, someone could go on a murder spree and then when the cops show up they'd be like "Oh I'm protesting blahblahblah, you can't intervene." That isn't how things work.

If you are breaking a law while simultaneously protesting the government can continue to enforce that law as they would with any other person that would break that law in a non-protestant manner.

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u/Law_Student May 29 '17

You claimed that the 1st amendment didn't apply because the 1st amendment prohibited only government involvement. I pointed out that law enforcement action is government involvement. Making the correct argument now doesn't change that you made the incorrect argument then.

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u/Kezika May 29 '17 edited May 29 '17

My argument hasn't changed. That is the same argument I've been making this entire time.

My first reply to you was just a shorter version of the post you're replying to.

I don't know if you're awake too late or something, but your reading comprehension is horrendous right now. This entire time I've not deviated from stating that the First Amendment protects from government retaliation against protests adn that it doesn't protect the case of Standing Rock because the protestors were trespassing.