The high-tech Brownshirts on the left have now “swatted” Eric Erickson. Two things are certain. First, the United States Department of Justice could stop this behavior quickly because it almost certainly constitutes a federal crime. And second, the use of term “Brownshirt” to describe this swatting gang has not been used more appropriately since the Strumabteilung made their debut in 1921.
It is almost certain that the people engaging in swatting are violating federal law. Consider 18 U.S.C. 241.
If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
The only reason Erickson and the others were attacked was because of their exercise of First Amendment rights. The only reason they were targeted is because of their conservative political speech, speech with which the swatters disagreed.
I wrote in my book Injustice how this administration has “abandoned law abiding citizens and enabled the lawless.” But even though Eric Holder has chosen to do nothing about New Black Panther Party threats, there are plenty of Assistant United States Attorneys who respect the rule of law and serve in local DOJ offices across the nation. I worked with many of them while at I was at DOJ, and they could stop the swatting.
These DOJ lawyers can do something about this dangerous attack on free speech by the leftist swatters. These DOJ lawyers can initiate FBI investigations which would quickly reveal the wrongdoers, then prosecute them.
A final note about the term Brownshirts. One should not lightly compare modern events to the tactics and ideologies which made the 20th Century overflow with human destruction. Something that separates America from all other nations in history is our reverence for the rule of law, and respect for individual liberty.
When a gang employs sophisticated physical attacks designed to cause a confrontation that may result in death, simply because their target is worshiping or speaking freely, the species of evil is the same. Whether the gang plots street mayhem to make political opponents and Jews tremble, or sparks midnight visits to political opponents by armed men with the warrant of expediency to kick in doors, the goal is the same.
Political terrorism has no place in America. It is time for our great legal institutions to respond. It’s time for the Justice Department to take the side of the law-abiding once again and prosecute the thugs, regardless of political allegiances.