How Protest Became Terrorism; Supreme Court Run Amok w/ Sufia Khalid, Chris Geidner | MR Live
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Summary
Takeaways
- ❖The Prairie Land Nine, anti-ICE protesters, were sentenced to 30-100 years using a terrorism enhancement, despite being acquitted of violence, a stark contrast to January 6th prosecutions.
- ❖The National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NPSM 7) is being used to criminalize non-violent protest activities like trespass and property damage as domestic terrorism.
- ❖The Supreme Court ruled that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) decisions are not subject to statutory judicial review, allowing the executive branch unchecked power to revoke protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
- ❖The Supreme Court upheld 'metering' policies at the border, effectively preventing asylum seekers from reaching US soil to apply for legal protection, despite international and US law.
- ❖A 90-year precedent (Humphrey's Executive) was overturned, granting the President the power to unilaterally fire Federal Trade Commission (FTC) members, but not Federal Reserve members, impacting regulatory independence.
- ❖Conservative Democrats are reportedly 'freaking out' over the rising fortunes of progressives and DSA candidates across the country, fearing loss of their own power and wealth accumulation.
- ❖Republicans are attempting to demonize the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) platform by highlighting proposals like abolishing the Electoral College, public ownership of industries, and ending aid to Israel, but these efforts are seen as potentially backfiring.
Insights
1Weaponization of Terrorism Statutes Against Protesters
The US government, under NPSM 7, is applying material support for terrorism charges and enhancements to non-violent protest activities, leading to shockingly disproportionate sentences. The Prairie Land Nine case exemplifies this, where anti-ICE protesters received 30-100 year sentences for a 'noise demonstration' involving fireworks, despite being acquitted of attempted murder. This contrasts sharply with the average two-year sentences for January 6th rioters who caused significant damage and injuries.
Sufia Khaled details Marisella Roua's case, a 33-year-old mother and artist, receiving a life sentence for a non-violent role in an anti-ICE protest. The government used the National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NPSM 7) and the 2339A material support to terrorists statute, which criminalizes property damage on federal property as material support, even without ties to a terrorist organization. The terrorism enhancement, the most severe federal sentencing enhancement, was applied, requiring only that the offense was 'calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government through intimidation or retaliation.'
2Supreme Court Dismantles Immigration Protections and Judicial Oversight
Recent Supreme Court rulings have significantly curtailed protections for immigrants and limited judicial review over executive decisions. The court eliminated statutory challenges to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) decisions, effectively granting the DHS Secretary unchecked power to revoke TPS, even if procedures are ignored. Additionally, the court upheld 'metering' policies at the border, preventing asylum seekers from legally entering the US to claim asylum, thus encouraging illegal crossings and creating humanitarian crises.
Chris Geidner explains Justice Alito's opinion that no statutory challenge can be brought against DHS Secretary decisions regarding TPS, even if the law's consultation requirements are ignored. This impacts 300,000 Haitians and other groups. Sotomayor's dissent on the metering case highlighted that interpreting 'arriving in the United States' so narrowly encourages lawbreaking and creates a humanitarian crisis, drawing parallels to the MS St. Louis incident during WWII.
3Executive Power Expansion Over Independent Agencies
The Supreme Court overturned a 90-year precedent (Humphrey's Executive) that protected the independence of certain expert-led government agencies from presidential removal. This decision allows the President to fire members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at will, but curiously not members of the Federal Reserve, indicating a selective application that could undermine regulatory bodies critical for corporate oversight.
Geidner details the 6-3 decision in the 'Slaughter' case, which allows the President to fire FTC members without cause, overturning Humphrey's Executive. This decision impacts agencies like the National Labor Relations Board, American Protection Board, and Consumer Product Safety Commission, potentially centralizing power under the President and allowing for the disabling of agencies through strategic removals and stalled nominations.
4Progressive Gains and Conservative Backlash in Democratic Politics
The host observes a 'metastasizing' concern among conservative Democrats regarding the rising influence of progressives and DSA candidates. While Republicans attempt to demonize the progressive platform, the host suggests this strategy may be less effective than in the past, as progressive policies are demonstrating tangible results and gaining broader appeal.
Sam Seder notes that 'conservative Democrats' (labeled 'moderate Democrats') are 'crying to the media' over progressive successes in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Colorado. He argues their concern is less ideological and more about personal power and wealth accumulation. Zohran Mamdani's clip showcases concrete achievements of 'democratic socialism' in New York City (free child care, tenant protection, low crime), directly countering Republican demonization attempts. Mike Johnson's attempt to scare people with the DSA platform (abolish Electoral College, public ownership, Free Palestine) is presented as potentially backfiring, as many points resonate with the public.
Bottom Line
The selective application of 'for cause' removal protections by the Supreme Court (allowing President to fire FTC but not Fed members) suggests a strategic judicial effort to protect financial interests while enabling executive control over corporate regulation.
This ruling centralizes presidential power over agencies that regulate corporations, potentially leading to less oversight and more industry-friendly policies, while insulating the Federal Reserve from political interference, arguably protecting the existing financial power structure.
Advocates for corporate accountability must now focus on legislative solutions to re-establish agency independence or develop rapid response strategies to counter executive dismantling of regulatory bodies through personnel changes.
The Supreme Court's decision on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and border 'metering' effectively creates a 'pre-border' zone where asylum claims can be denied without judicial review, pushing asylum seekers into more dangerous, illegal crossings.
This legal maneuver undermines international and US asylum law, increasing human suffering and potentially overwhelming border security with more undocumented crossings, rather than streamlining legal processes.
International human rights organizations and legal aid groups must explore new legal avenues, potentially international courts or novel constitutional challenges, to address this 'pre-border' legal vacuum and protect asylum seekers' rights.
Lessons
- Support legal defense organizations like the Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA) that are challenging the weaponization of terrorism statutes against protesters, as their work is critical for preserving First Amendment rights.
- Engage with and support progressive candidates and organizations (e.g., DSA) who are demonstrating tangible policy successes, to counter the narrative of 'conservative Democrats' and Republican demonization.
- Stay informed about Supreme Court rulings and their implications for civil liberties, immigration, and regulatory bodies, and advocate for legislative changes or judicial reforms to protect democratic institutions and vulnerable populations.
Quotes
"We don't have to ask ourselves what life looks like if a socialist wins. I won last November. And over the course of these last six months, what we've delivered for working people are the very things we were told were impossible."
"We need significant new leadership. If people can't recognize that the game has fundamentally changed and can't adapt, then they need to make room for others who can."
"The administration dictating that the nonviolent critics of the government are going to get life sentences, 50 to 100 years, that's a life sentence for these people. We're saying 5,200 life sentences for nonviolent critics of the government when we have an average two-year sentence for their violent insurrectionist supporters. That's not a democratic society in any meaningful sense."
"Why are you interpreting a law to encourage lawbreaking? Like what why are you reading this word in in a way that essentially would mean that Congress wanted to encourage lawbreaking with the passage of this law? Like that's nonsensical."
Q&A
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