@drdrowland @SeanCasten That Alex Pretti "had a gun" line says more about how full of shit the American right is than 100 episodes of Democracy Now!

(And whether or not he /actually/ had one is immaterial to the core fact they're full of shit.)

For *decades*, the American right has claimed that guns are necessary to protect the constitution.

For *decades*, the American right has claimed that guns are necessary to resist tyrannical or authoritarian actions by government.

For *decades*, the American right has said the right to free speech is paramount.

And over *decades*, the American right has said the right to free speech includes the right to protest. That includes after Charlottesville, January 6, and the pandemic-era anti-mask demonstrations.

This isn't some ideological side point.

The NRA, countless Fox News talking heads, countless right-wing public figures, countless Republican politicians and candidates have droned about this.

For decades.

Well okay. Extrajudicial killings of US citizens, unreasonable search and seizure, detention of US citizens without due process of law.

Seems like a pretty bloody blatant violation of the core principles of the US Constitution and US Bill of Rights to me.

The *exact circumstances* the US right has said *for decades* necessitate the right to bear arms.

And after witnessing unconstitutional actions that violate the Bill of Rights, Alex exercised his right to free speech by attending a protest.

The *exact circumstances* the US right has said *for decades* necessitates the right to free speech.

Against this background, the American right now claims that Alex exercising his right to free speech and (possibly) his right to bear arms in resistance of unconstitutional acts justifies extrajudicial murder by government agents.

And in using that argument, the American right has shown just how totally full of shit they are.

Not just Trump.

Not just ICE.

Every bloody American right winger who's talked about guns and free speech over the past few decades.

Because that one line shows how full of shit they've been the whole time.

Their first principles were never guns or free speech.

Their real first principles were violence, white supremacy, and capitalist greed.

Oh, and one more thing.

It's not just the likes of the NRA and the Proud Boys and the gun nuts in the GOP who are conspicuously quiet.

It's also all the southerners who spent decades talking about states rights.

Because their motivation was never about protecting states (like Minnesota) from authoritarian actions by the federal government.

It was always about allowing states to segregate schools.

So the next time you hear some American right winger mention guns or free speech, just ask them "what about Alex Pretti?"

And the next time you hear some American right winger mention states rights, just ask them "what about ICE agents in Minnesota?"