FOR OUR ENEMIES, THE LAW

Happy (?) 4th. Now that the big bill has been rubber-stamped by Congress, here are some stories you might have missed about the Trump regime siccing the law on people Trump doesn't like.

First, the Los Angeles Times reports:

A local activist who handed out protective face shields to protesters last month during demonstrations against the Trump administration’s chaotic immigration raids was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday.

Alejandro Orellana, a 29-year-old member of the Boyle Heights-based community organization Centro CSO, faces charges of conspiracy and aiding and abetting civil disorder, court records show.

According to the indictment, Orellana and at least two others drove around downtown L.A. in a pickup truck distributing Uvex Bionic face shields and other items to a crowd engaged in a protest near the federal building on Los Angeles Street on June 9.

Prosecutors allege Orellana was helping protesters withstand less-lethal munitions being deployed by Los Angeles police officers and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies after an unlawful assembly had been declared.

So it's illegal to protect your face from rubber bullets and tear gas?

I guess so.

Asked how handing out defensive equipment was a crime during a news conference last month, [U.S. attorney Bill] Essayli insisted Orellana was specifically handing out supplies to violent demonstrators.

“He wasn’t handing masks out at the beach. ... They’re covering their faces. They’re wearing backpacks. These weren’t peaceful protesters,” he said. “They weren’t holding up signs, with a political message. They came to do violence.”

In the new American order, words don't mean what you think they mean.

Essayli described anyone who remained at a protest scene after an unlawful assembly was declared as a “rioter” and said peaceful protesters “don’t need a face shield.”

In fact:

A Times investigation last month highlighted incidents in which protesters allege Los Angeles Police Department officers fired rubber rounds and other crowd control munitions without warning in recent weeks, causing demonstrators and members of the media to suffer broken bones, concussions and other forms of severe harm.

And now for some electoral activity the Trump regime is attempting to criminalize:

Senior Justice Department officials are exploring whether they can bring criminal charges against state or local election officials if the Trump administration determines they have not sufficiently safeguarded their computer systems, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The department’s effort, which is still in its early stages, is not based on new evidence, data or legal authority, according to the people, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. Instead, it is driven by the unsubstantiated argument made by many in the Trump administration that American elections are easy prey to voter fraud and foreign manipulation, these people said....

Conspiracy theories about the security of election machines ... were thrust into the mainstream after the 2020 election, when allies of Mr. Trump espoused spurious theories, claiming, with no evidence, that machines were hacked by foreign adversaries, some with ties to long-deceased dictators.

... Mr. Trump ... stated a desire to criminally prosecute state and local election officials while he was running for office in 2024. And Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for a second Trump administration, also pushed for using the Justice Department to prosecute election officials.

Will honest election officials be prosecuted by the regime? Could legitimate election results be overturned? Sure seems that way.

And I guess this is a consequence of 9/11, but your electronic devices are an open book to the regime:

United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is asking tech companies to pitch digital forensics tools that are designed to process and analyze text messages, pictures, videos, and contacts from seized phones, laptops, and other devices at the United States border....

CBP has been using Cellebrite to extract and analyze data from devices since 2008. But the agency said that it wants to “expand” and modernize its digital forensics program.

... Cellebrite ... can sort images based on whether they contain certain elements, like jewelry, handwriting, or documents. It can also go through text messages, as well as direct messages on apps like TikTok, and filter out messages that mention certain topics, like evidence obstruction, family, or the police. Users can also unveil photos “hidden” by a device owner, make social maps of friends and contacts, and plot the locations where a person sent text messages....

Legally, CBP has the authority to search anyone’s phone at the US border without a warrant. If a person refuses to hand over their password, US citizens can remain in custody temporarily, but can’t be denied entry. However, non-citizens may be denied entry if they refuse.

If border patrol officers have the password to someone’s phone, they can conduct a “basic search” and manually scroll through the phone on the spot. However, officers may then choose to download the entirety of a phone's data, or keep it to conduct an “advanced search,” at which point digital forensic tools like Cellebrite may be used.

All this makes a mockery of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

CBP is allowed to conduct fishing expeduitions, an abuse the Fourth Amendment was meant to prevent. And in the hands of the Trump regime, the only reason for the search might be political disrespect for the King.

Dreaming up new ways to criminalize opposition to Trump is an emotional satisfying pursuit for Trump's top aides, so expect additional inventive forms of repression in the future.