At the Corners of the Constitution: Climate Activists Beware

Of all the concerning things — and there have been many — reported during the first 75 (or so) days of Trump’s triumphal return to Washington, the following paragraph struck my constitutional nerve. If this were a movie, here’s the scene where ominous music plays in the background — dah, dum, duM, dUM, DUM!!

However, this is not a movie, and the frightening reality is that President Trump is beginning to detain and prosecute people for what they think and their conformity to what he thinks. Today, it’s about demonstrating against Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people; tomorrow, it could be for thinking environmental regulation is a proper function of government.

The chill-inducing paragraph was reported in the Guardian:

“A White House official told the Free Press that Khalil, who was arrested without charge, poses a ‘threat to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States’ and the ‘allegation here is not that he was breaking the law.’” (Emphasis added)

The Khalil involved is Mahmoud Khalil. A former Columbia University student who grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria served as a lead negotiator for the Gaza solidarity encampment at the university last year, mediating between protesters and administrators. Khalil is…