On Friday, a court in Wisconsin set a precedent for armed racists who cross state lines to go intimidate people with military-style weapons. The next time a marginalized community fights back against injustice by rioting – as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “riots are the language of the unheard” – armed white boys and men can start shooting and claim self defense.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (R-NY) spoke up after the verdict was announced to say that the precedent that was set by the case was dangerous and needs review by the Department of Justice. A judge sympathetic to a murderer’s case, a judgment that clearly missed the legal mark by a mile, and the placement of property value above human lives has many Americans outraged, and Nadler voiced their concerns.
‘This heartbreaking verdict is a miscarriage of justice and sets a dangerous precedent which justifies federal review by DOJ. Justice cannot tolerate armed persons crossing state lines looking for trouble while people engage in First Amendment-protected protest.’
The idea that a 17-year-old with a semi-automatic weapon is now allowed to run around during a protest waving and pointing that weapon at people who may or may not have been involved in any kind of destruction of property is terrifying, and a legal precedent that’s set to make that okay is just a bad precedent to set.
The comments on Nadler’s post showed the division between Americans on this case. Read some of their comments below:
