Leftists renew push to criminalize free speech via ‘domestic terrorism’ bill

Using the classic “never let a crisis go to waste” gambit, Joe Biden and other leftists in Washington have labeled the tragic mass shooting in Buffalo, NY, an act of “domestic terrorism” in order to push passage of the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act (DTPA), a bill that criminalizes free speech.

If it becomes law, DTPA will authorize the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to monitor, analyze, investigate, and prosecute domestic terrorism. (Emphasis mine)

Joe Biden fired up his “domestic terrorism” rhetoric Immediately following the Buffalo tragedy before any information about the shooter’s motivation was even known (via New York Post):

President Joe Biden called Saturday’s Buffalo supermarket attack “an act of domestic terrorism,” while the Department of Justice investigated the apparently racially motivated mass shooting as a hate crime.

Biden said “hearts all across this country are with the people of Buffalo” after a teenage gunman killed 10 people and injured three others at a Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly black neighborhood of the city.

“We still need to learn more about the motivation for today’s shooting as law enforcement does its work, but we don’t need anything else to state a clear moral truth: A racially motivated hate crime is abhorrent to the very fabric of this nation,” Biden said in a statement.

“Any act of domestic terrorism, including an act perpetrated in the name of a repugnant white nationalist ideology, is antithetical to everything we stand for in America. Hate must have no safe harbor. We must do everything in our power to end hate-fueled domestic terrorism.” (Emphasis mine)

Did you catch the seamless transition Biden made between “hate crime” and “domestic terrorism?”

Right on cue, House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) announced he will renew the push to pass the DTPA. A vote is supposed to take place this week (via TheHill.com):

House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) told reporters on Monday that the group will consider the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act on Tuesday morning. A vote in the House is expected this week, though it is unclear what day that will occur.

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), the sponsor of the bill, told reporters on Monday that the legislation has been tweaked to stipulate that nothing in it would undermine First Amendment rights.

Schneider specifically referenced several recent shootings around the country. Over the weekend, 13 people were shot at a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, 10 of whom died, and one person was killed in a shooting in Laguna Woods, Calif. (Emphasis mine)

*Strident Conservative Tip: When a member of Congress tells you their bill “won’t undermine First Amendment rights,” they are engaging in Washington politispeak designed to hide the fact that it does the exact opposite.

Despite this so-called tweaking, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022 (H.R.350) is summarized as follows:

This bill establishes new requirements to expand the availability of information on domestic terrorism, as well as the relationship between domestic terrorism and hate crimes.

It authorizes domestic terrorism components within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to monitor, analyze, investigate, and prosecute domestic terrorism.

The domestic terrorism components of DHS, DOJ, and the FBI must jointly report on domestic terrorism, including white-supremacist-related incidents or attempted incidents.

DHS, DOJ, and the FBI must review the anti-terrorism training and resource programs of their agencies that are provided to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. Additionally, DOJ must make training on prosecuting domestic terrorism available to its prosecutors and to assistant U.S. attorneys.

It creates an interagency task force to analyze and combat white supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration of the uniformed services and federal law enforcement agencies.

Finally, it directs the FBI to assign a special agent or hate crimes liaison to each field office to investigate hate crimes incidents with a nexus to domestic terrorism. (Emphasis mine)

Just like Joe Biden, this bill connects hate crimes to domestic terrorism.

Here’s some food for thought: so-called hate speech is also considered a hate crime, so you can only imagine where this is leading us.

Nearly a year ago, Joe Biden unveiled his strategy to counter the rise in so-called domestic terrorism where he would criminalize free speech and establish a *police state to silence the voices of dissent coming from people opposed to tyranny and oppression.

“Domestic terrorism — driven by hate, bigotry and other forms of extremism — is a stain on the soul of America,” Biden said in a statement at the time. “It goes against everything our country strives for, and it poses a direct challenge to our national security, democracy and unity.”

Democrats first pushed DTPA in April, but it failed to pass earlier this month despite using a fast-track process; it was yanked from the calendar following opposition from a few progressive lawmakers.

In his first address to a Joint Session of Congress, Biden used the report to blame the rise of terrorism in the United States on white Americans instead of radical Islam. Specifically, Biden labeled “white supremacists” as the “most lethal terrorist threat” to the country after mentioning Al-Qaeda and other jihadist groups.

Since then, criminalizing free speech in the name of fighting domestic terrorist has taken other forms.

In August 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a terrorism threat advisory designed to silence the dissenting voices of people exercising their God-given, constitutionally protected right to free speech to protest government. The advisory identified “terrorists” as pushers of “anti-government rhetoric” who stood in “opposition to COVID measures.”

In October 2021, Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) labeled parents concerned about Critical Race Theory being taught in public schools as “domestic terrorists” when Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum about the “disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff.”

In January 2022, the DOJ announced the creation of a new unit dedicated to dealing specifically with domestic terrorism. Matthew Olsen, the assistant attorney general for national security, made the announcement and provided the rationale for creating the unit:

“I decided to establish a domestic terrorism unit to augment our existing approach.

“This group of dedicated attorneys will focus on the domestic terrorism threat, helping to ensure that these cases are handled properly and effectively coordinated across the Department of Justice and across the country.

“We’ve seen a growing threat from those who are motivated by racial animus as well as those who ascribe to extremist anti-government and anti-authority ideologies,” he said. (Emphasis mine)

In February 2022, there were rumblings of Canada-styled truck driver protests coming to Washington, D.C. and in response, DHS released an advisory saying that people who exercise free speech rights to oppose COVID tyranny — DHS called it “misinformation” — would be guilty of engaging in acts of domestic terrorism.

Joe Biden and the army of leftists running the Democrat Party are calling the Buffalo mass shooting an act of “domestic terrorism” in order to pass the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, a bill that criminalizes free speech. If they succeed, we will be one step closer to seeing the end of liberty in America.

 

* A “police state” is defined as: a totalitarian state or country in which a national police force, esp. a secret police, suppresses any act that conflicts with government policy. (Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, 2010)

 

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David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative. He holds people of every political stripe accountable for their failure to uphold conservative values, and he promotes those values instead of political parties.

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