If Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie were never in the US House, you can bet that tyranny would sweep across America without much resistance.
Massie threw a fit on April 6, 2022, when the House Judiciary Committee passed legislation to grant federal law enforcement additional resources to combat domestic terrorism. Republican House members made several attempts to include amendments that protect civil liberties.
This committee, which is made up of 25 Democrats and 19 Republicans, passed the bill 21-17 on a party line vote. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act is now heading to the House floor after the bill was heavily debated for 3 days.
Republicans made 4 unsuccessful attempts to add amendments to this legislation. The first attempt took place on April 5, in which an amendment was proposed to prohibit the Department of Justice (DOJ) from surveilling parents who attend school board protests. This amendment was introduced as a response to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision in 2021 to conduct investigations into alleged cases of violence at school board meetings.
Ken Silva of Epoch times noted that New York Congressman Jerry Nadler, the Judiciary Committee Chairman, voiced stiff opposition to the amendment. He ridiculed the idea that the DOJ was snooping on parents attending school board protests and labeled it as a “Fox News conspiracy theory.”
The amendment died on a 24-18 vote.
That same day Republicans put forward an additional amendment that required the FBI to provide Congress the exact number of parents protesting at school boards it’s surveilling as potential threats. Similarly, Democrats struck down this amendment on a 23-17 vote.
Florida Congressman Greg Steube proposed an amendment that would include a targeted focus on “radicalized social justice groups” such as Antifa and Black Lives Matter. The original bill is mostly focused on the alleged threat of “white supremacists” and “neo-Nazis.”
Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz opposed this amendment, along with his Democrat colleagues, on civil liberties grounds.
“I am not going to support the amendment, because the biggest problem we face is the inward turning of these national security organizations,” Gaetz stated.
“I do not believe we should do this to our fellow Americans, whether they’re members of Antifa, BLM, or some other group that’s deemed a thought crime or a crime of bad politics in today’s ethic.”
The amendment fell by a vote of 23–15.
Last but certainly not least, Republicans put forward an amendment that would bar the federal government from using counterterrorism resources against any individual who refuses to take a Wuhan virus vaccine.
Republican leaders pointed out that the threat posed towards people who reject vaccinations is not some paranoid conspiracy theory. They alluded to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bulletin that was released in February that warned about an increased threat of terrorism due to “false and misleading narratives,” misinformation, and “conspiracy theories.” In sum, Republicans are scared that those who refuse vaccines will be treated as domestic terrorists.
Massie noted that this is a bill that is designed “to go after domestic terrorism.”
“That’s probably a good thing,” Massie said.
Massie noted that Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs tacked on an amendment that would prohibit the funds authorized in this bill “to investigate, analyze, monitor, or prosecute any individual who’s declined the COVID vaccine or expressed opposition to it.”
The Kentucky congressman stated that he has been previously accused of disseminating Wuhan virus pandemic misinformation on multiple occasions since the pandemic first broke out.
“It should terrify you that this amendment is germane to the bill,” Massie declared.
Democrats still voted against Massie’s amendment, making the case that the counterterrorism resources will exclusively be used for law enforcement functions that supposedly have a constitutional basis. Massie’s amendment was voted down 19-16.
On Twitter, Massie posted, “Let’s not let the FBI label mothers “domestic terrorists” for COVID vaccine opposition.”
Let's not let the FBI label mothers "domestic terrorists" for COVID vaccine opposition. pic.twitter.com/I6diVOrAfE
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 6, 2022
Massie, yet again, showed why he’s the most trustworthy member of Congress when it comes to the promotion of civil liberties. Congress is, by and large, filled with scores of control freak politicians.
Massie is a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, politics is a numbers game. For Massie’s pro-liberty vision to become a reality, he will need a strong team of pro-liberty legislators by his side. Liberty conservative electoral activists have their work cut out for them when it comes to getting multiple Thomas Massie in office.
No one said that the fight for restoring liberty is going to be easy.
