(Originally published in American Thinker.)
Democrats don’t like the police, but they are more than willing to use them to enforce their abuses of power and overstepping of authority. A recent example of this is how police are used to help Democrats violate freedom of speech and freedom of assembly and the civil rights of Christians because Democrats don’t like their opinions.
Members of two pro-life groups were arrested in North Carolina for praying and offering sidewalk counseling in front of an abortion facility in April 2020.
This is something that has been happening in the UK, but they don’t have the protections that American citizens are supposed to have via the Bill of Rights and civil rights legislation. Of course, citizen rights are continually disappearing as leftists get into positions of power and then work to make their positions and power permanent.
In this instance in North Carolina, members of two pro-life groups were praying and trying to counsel women who were going into an abortion clinic in Mecklenburg County. Because this was during the COVID pandemic, precautions such as maintaining social distancing and having hand sanitizer near were used.
“In fact, they even used sidewalk chalk to mark and maintain appropriate distances between individuals,” according to the lawsuit the pro-life groups filed.
However, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department arrested or cited members of the groups. They said the groups had violated a Revised Joint Proclamation issued by the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners and the Mayor of the City of Charlotte, which prohibits certain gatherings of more than 10 people. But the proclamation “expressly exempts the activities” of the groups from the limit, according to the lawsuit.
The groups said in the lawsuit that government officials subjected members of the group “to unlawful harassment, arrest, and citations, demonstrating hostility toward the Advocates’ views and religious beliefs.”
Last month, the county settled the lawsuit. As part of the settlement, the county agreed that religious groups had a right to advocate peacefully on public sidewalks and street. The county also agreed to pay $20,000 for damages, attorney fees, or other costs incurred by the groups because of the arrest and lawsuit.
This is the county being forced to admit they were wrong. However, the sad thing is that the arrests occurred in the first place. It wouldn’t have happened if politicians started honoring the Constitution they swear to uphold.
Police also need to be aware that the Democrats are using them for shields to protect them when they overreach. It doesn’t help the image that police are trying to repair. Their image as a protector of citizens and enforcers of law has been damaged by the very people who want them to infringe on citizens’ rights.
The Democrats aren’t friends of the police, and they won’t protect the police when unlawful arrests come back to haunt them.
Michael A. Letts is the CEO and Founder of In-VestUSA, a national grassroots non-profit organization helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bulletproof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs.
