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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The above was adopted on December 15, 1791 in the United States of America as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights.

I dont typically dive into politics unless I really feel it necessary, and over the past few weeks it has become obvious to me that I cant be quiet anymore. My livelihood is coming under attack literally.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you are sure to have heard about the unlawful and disgusting murder of George Floyd. Floyd, a black man, was murdered on camera by a police officer in Minneapolis.

After footage hit social media and the news, protests by those who believe the killing to be unjust broke out both in Minneapolis and soon after across the country as a show of both solidarity and to showcase that Black Lives Matter.

And, with those protests came rioting and looting by those who take advantage of those peacefully expressing their concerns, their right.

Media personnel from all over the country have reported from the protests and riots, risking their lives and probably their sanity to bring news to their fellow Americans as the situations unfold and become violent. Journalists are there to show first hand what is going on and pass that information on to the country.

And then, a CNN broadcast journalist was arrested on live television for doing what appears to be by most Americans his job. A BLACK male journalist, who was televised asking how to comply with officers. He was in the designated press section, he was where he was supposed to be but he was arrested. I, as well as others Im sure, thought this was another senseless act perpetrated by police to undermine a person of color.

Then, after news of this questionable arrest circulated, other journalists throughout the country were shot with rubber bullets, tear gas and were subject to other forceful restraints by police. There are now multiple instances in which unlawful force was used on journalists and a good portion of it was televised lived or recorded. They are of all races and genders.

The words at the beginning of this column protect both myself and my fellow journalist. They give us the constitutional right to cover the news and report it so that our fellow Americans can know what is happening throughout the county. They protect other freedoms as well, but for me, that press mention is a big deal. Those words ensure that I am not only allowed to do my job, but to provide a service to my community and on a larger scale my country.

News at its core is a service to the country, the world.

News is that part of communication that keeps us informed of the changing events, issues, and characters in the world outside. Though it may be interesting or even entertaining, the foremost value of news is as a utility to empower the informed, according to the American Press Institute.

The purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments. We are here for you. We are here to attend meetings, attend events, attend potentially dangerous situations so we can tell you about them.

But, it has been very apparent that current leadership in America doesnt believe we should be protected. We are labeled as fake. We are disrespected. We are accused of just wanting views. We have become an enemy, when in fact we are a very important part of all aspects of the world.

I know that bias exists, and I know those freedoms allotted in the first amendment can be abused, but please keep in mind that journalists are here for you. We are providing you a service, and most importantly we are supposed to be protected and right now, it doesnt seem as though we are.

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Nikki Dotson Merritt: First amendment protects journalists, at least it is supposed to - Huntington Herald Dispatch

The Fourth of July is the most important date in the United States calendar, commemorating the day the 13 former American colonies declared themselves independent states and thumbed their collective nose at Great Britain. This paved the way, 13 years later, for the US Constitution to be enshrined in 1789. The First Amendment followed in 1791, establishing the basic rights of freedom of all US citizens. The second was also added at the same time and is perhaps the most contentious and famous of all the 27 amendments the right to bear arms, which has been in the headlines during the coronavirus pandemic and the aftermath of George Floyds death. Also slipped in on 25 September, 1789, among the 10 amendments that make up the Bill of Rights, was one that has been practically forgotten by history: the Third Amendment.

The decision by Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to write to President Donald Trump demanding the ousting of 1,000 Utah National Guard troops from hotels in the capital has suddenly thrown the little-studied Third Amendment into sharp relief with dusty tomes being pulled from shelves to see what exactly the Democratic mayors issue is.

The first to find the relevant page was US Senator Mike Lee, the Republican representative for Utah, who was incensed that Bowser had invoked the centuries old small print to evict the National Guard from Washington hotels after the state of emergency put in place due to protests over George Floyds death had been declared over by Bowser on 4 June.

The original text of the Third Amendment is brief and specific: No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

It was added to the Bill of Rights in response to the Quartering Acts drawn up by the British parliament in 1774 in the run-up to the American Revolutionary War. These acts (a previous one had been introduced in 1765) essentially ordered that British troops be housed wherever necessary if there was not sufficient space in barracks, be this in uninhabited houses, out-houses, barns, or other buildings including private homes.

This was among the list of grievances aired in the Declaration of Independence and the wording of the Third Amendment was crafted in response to Britain slyly building up forces at strategic points by waving the Quartering Act about and to ensure no internal antagonists could concentrate troops using a similar ruse.

However, under the terminology of the amendment, National Guard troops are considered soldiers, even if they are hardly an occupying army. Thusly Bowser was able to invoke the Third Amendment to make her point.

Not a great deal, other than a raft of memes, a little head-scratching and some political point-scoring. Even though the hotels that had billeted the National Guard had consented to their presence, Defense Secretary Mark Esper elected to send all troops in Washington back from whence they came as the path of least resistance, allowing the Third Amendment to return to its two-century hibernation.

Continue reading here:
What is the third amendment and can it be applied now? - AS English

In the wake of current events not only in Seattle but across the nation, we recognize that it is The Spectators responsibility to report on all matters impacting the Seattle University community.

The Spectator Editorial Board supports the #BlackLivesMatter movement and we stand in solidarity with the Black community, both within and outside Seattle U. We are committed to speaking out against the police brutality, state-sanctioned violence and white supremacy in this country that has led to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade, among so many others.

As student journalists, we recognize the privilege we hold and are committed to using our platform to amplify Black voices, Black activists and Black organizers. We want to bring to the forefront the injustices that Black people face in this country, time and time again. We are dedicated to our mission of honest and accurate storytelling in order to report for social change and social justice.

Journalism has always been a key driving force in maintaining democracy, but it is important to understand that white men in state media have upheld institutions and systems of power that silence Black and Indigenous folks in their reporting. We refuse to desensitize ourselves and our readers to the harsh realities that Black people endure in their daily lives. We refuse to be like other media outlets that only show half of the story, leaving out the most important perspectives. We refuse to be complicit during a time when our country is trying to silence our first amendment rights.

We will utilize all of our platforms to accurately report on and update the community on all matters that stem from white supremacy in this country. We want to reinforce the message others have stated eloquently regarding our responsibility to stand up for the oppressed and avidly commit ourselves to being anti-racist. The Spectator is working diligently to educate the people on petitions, protests, ways to donate and how to support the Black members of our community.

As the state of unrest continues in our country, we want to welcome our community members to submit opinion pieces of their own regarding the current state of the country and the reactions of its citizens. While we encourage speaking out on matters individuals feel passionately about, we wish to make it explicitly clear that The Spectator will not accept nor publish pieces that promote hatred, violence or bigotry.

As we continue to educate ourselves and remain at the scenes of protests we encourage others to seek knowledge on the #BlackLivesMatter movement and advocate for the oppressed. Blacklivesmatter.carrd.co offers multiple resources for those who wish to help. Seattle U will hold a vigil for racial justice on June 4 and students have created a petition asking the university for additional support for Black students during finals.

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The Spectator's Official Message to Stand with Black Students and Uphold Our First Amendment Rights - The Spectator

WASHINGTON The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University today sent a letter to Attorney General William P. Barr demanding that he direct officers who have been deployed to police or monitor the ongoing protests to wear badges or other markers displaying their agency affiliations, their identification numbers, and their names. Some of the heavily armed officers who have been deployed in Washington, DC, have not been wearing such markers. The Institutes letter states that the No-Badge practices chill the exercise of First Amendment rights and raise a host of other concerns.

The No-Badge practices seem designed to instill fear and to intimidate people from exercising rights protected by the First Amendment, said Jameel Jaffer, Executive Director at the Knight First Amendment Institute. They also conceal information that the public has a right to know. There is no legitimate justification for these practices, and they should have no place in any free society.

According to the Knight Institutes letter, the practices raise an array of serious concerns, including contributing to public mistrust of law enforcement and the government more broadly. The letter states that the practices will chill private citizens from participating in protests, and also undermine the legitimacy of whatever demands the armed personnel make of the citizens with whom they interact. The practices will also frustrate accountability, the letter states, because protesters and members of the public cannot know whom to hold responsible when these personnel engage in conduct that is abusive or unlawful.

These practices are bad policy, and they also raise grave constitutional concerns, said Leena Charlton, a legal fellow at the Knight Institute. The ability to identify members of law enforcement plays an essential role in ensuring government accountability, stemming police brutality, and vindicating civil rights.

The letter asks that, by June 10, the Attorney General respond and explain the steps he has taken to ensure that all personnel under his supervision or control deployed to police or monitor public protests display identifying information.

Read todays letterhere.

In response to police killings of Black men, women, and children and to the excessive use of force against protesters and journalists covering the demonstrations, the Knight First Amendment Institute staff also issued a statement today that calls for reforms to strengthen public access to information about police misconduct; protect those who expose that misconduct; and guarantee the rights of those who are currently protesting.

Read todays statementhere.

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Knight Institute Demands Attorney General Direct Armed Officers Deployed in DC to Display Identities and Agency Affiliations - YubaNet

Hours after the sometimes chaotic protesting died down, two soldiers with the D.C. National Guard kept watch at the mostly calm corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street N.W.

It was about 11:30 p.m. at the midpoint between the White House and the Capitol building and Staff Sgt. Jeremy French and Pfc. Rich Lynch were stationed to make sure no vehicles headed northwest on Pennsylvania Ave.

They were part of the largest domestic mobilization of Guard troops in the nations history, with more than 17,000 activated for civil unrest duties and about 45,000 more to help with the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The D.C. troops were armed only with defensive weapons, Guard officials said. Rubber bullets, shields and batons. They were not assigned to arrest or detain anyone, and the use of proportional force was only allowed if their lives were endangered.

It kind of makes sense to me that they would chose Washington, D.C., to come and be heard, French said of the thousands of people who flooded into town to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who prosecutors say was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer who had his knee on a restrained Floyds throat.

Thats because right there in the background is the U.S. Capitol, said French, nodding his head toward the gleaming domed structure four blocks to the southeast. Those are the people who make the laws. So if you had something you wanted to be able to have your voice heard about, to make an impact and maybe change, that would be the place to do it. So I think this is the appropriate place to be heard.

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French and Lynch were pulling duty several hours after President Donald Trump announced his intentions to call in active duty troops to respond to the growing unrest that is sweeping the nation, resulting in several deaths, massive destruction and hundreds of thousands of people expressing their outrage over racial injustice.

French avoided politics, saying his perspective is just from his position at the intersection of 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue. But he said it is local law enforcement, not the military, that is best suited to coping with the looting, burning and violence that has erupted along with peaceful protests.

Weve seen some protesters come up and down, back and forth, but it seems like its been pretty peaceful, said French, 49, who previously served with the Marines in both the first Gulf War and Afghanistan and later as a contractor working in Afghanistan.

Im definitely not an expert on civil disturbances, he said, so it looks to me like the D.C. Metro Police are doing a pretty good job of controlling the situation and with us in general support, maybe this is enough. Im not really sure if you brought more military in that they would be able to do anything any different.

The D.C. Metro Police are specially trained for this mission, he said.

As he spoke, several police cars speed north, lights flashing, down 7th Avenue toward some unknown event.

Here in the nations capital, protest is not a new thing, said French. Neither are large activities like Fourth of July celebrations, parades, things of that nature. So I believe protest activity is something better left to the experts and I would say the experts are definitely D.C. Metro Police.

The military is trained in crowd-control techniques and tactics, however that is with more of a DoD type of flair in a deployed environment, said French. But this is the U.S. It is a little bit different here.

Protecting Rights

Both French and Lynch said they felt their mission was essential to upholding the constitutional rights of free assembly.

Lynch, the private first class, spent half of his 20 years as a resident of the District.

Im just doing my job, he said. I know a lot about this area and how these people feel about the situations going on, but I am just doing what I am supposed to.

And thats making sure motorists dont drive toward the White House, or interfere with those who are protesting. Helping to block the street was a tan light medium tactical vehicle from the D.C. National Guard motor pool, parked in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue.

The mission is to separate the good protesters and then the rioters and looters, said Lynch. You kind of have to draw the line between which is which.

How do you do that?

Just see the actions they take, they speak louder than words, he said. If they are throwing bricks at you, they are not there to be peaceful. If they are just holding up signs and not causing any violence, why should we use violence, you know?"

Lynch said that hes had positive interactions with most of those who have taken to the streets.

People are now starting to associate our uniforms with police uniforms and thats the thing: We are not police, he said, smiling. We are not here to arrest you for jaywalking or smoking whatever you want to smoke. We are here to just assist.

French said that Washington is near and dear to my heart.

It was my first duty station in the Marine Corps, he said. I was stationed at Marine Barracks 8th and I back in 1989 so thats 30 years ago. ...my civilian job was in Washington, D.C.

As a D.C. Guardsman, French said we are out here in general support of the D.C. Metro Police to help ensure public safety for everybody, provide the opportunity for protesters to assemble peacefully and try to reduce the amount of the unlawful activity that is going on after hours in certain areas being done by certain people. So I think it is a pretty important job for all of the Americans who were out here, to give people the opportunity to express their First Amendment rights but within the legal boundary of the rule of law.

For French, Monday was his first night on the streets during the protests.

Ive had a very positive experience, he said. Been treated well by passers by and the like. Ive had several conversations with folks, so I have been treated really well.

Esper and Milley visit troops after church tumult

While it was calm in Washington near midnight Monday, several hours earlier the scene near the White House at St. Johns Episcopal Church at 15th and H streets NW was bedlam.

Those protesting were hit with tear gas as Trump and a coterie of officials, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley made their way to the church.

Law enforcement officers were aggressively forcing the protesters back, firing tear gas and deploying flash bangs into the crowd to disperse them from the park for seemingly no reason. It was a jarring scene as police in the nations capital forcefully cleared young men and women gathered legally in a public park on a sunny evening, all of it on live television.

With smoke still wafting and isolated tussles continuing in the crowd, Trump emerged in the Rose Garden for a dramatic split-screen of his own creation.

I am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters," he declared, before demanding that governors across the nation deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets. And Trump warned that, if the governors refused, he would deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.

As an additional show of force, Trump announced he was deploying even more of the military to Washington, giving it the feel of an armed, locked-down city after days of violent clashes, arson and looting.

As we speak I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers," he said, as explosions rang out in the background. We are putting everybody on warning.

Hours later, Esper and Milley, along with Army Chief of Staff, Gen. James McConville and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy arrived at 15th and K streets NW to talk with D.C. Guardsmen.

Thanks for being out here, said Esper, his arms crossed, to one of the soldiers. Thanks for your service. You want to go on active duty?

Esper did not take questions from a small group of reporters on the scene. But Milley spoke for about half a minute.

Those gathered, he said, can protest, but to protest peacefully.

The Pentagons top officer said his message on this night was to allow freedom to assemble, freedom of speech, thats perfectly fine. We support that. We took an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America to do that. And to protect everyones rights. And thats what we do. Weve got the D.C. National Guard out here and I was just checking to see how well they are doing, thats all.

Just before midnight, the young PFC who spent half his life as a resident of the District reflected on an historic turn of events in a city that has been burned and looted over days of protest both peaceful and violent.

I walked up and down these streets as a civilian before I joined the Guard, said Pfc. Rich Lynch. And to see the way it looks now, its crazy.

This story contains information from the Associated Press

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Guard troops in DC say they want to 'give people the opportunity to express their First Amendment rights' - Military Times