© Business InsiderMartin Luther King, Jr.
You can't have it both ways."Once the principle is established that the government can arrest and jail protesters... officials will use it to silence opposition broadly."
— Heather Cox Richardson, historian
You can't live in a constitutional republic if you allow the government to act like a police state.
You can't claim to value freedom if you allow the government to operate like a dictatorship.
You can't expect to have your rights respected if you allow the government to treat whomever it pleases with disrespect and an utter disregard for the rule of law.
There's always a boomerang effect.
Whatever dangerous practices you allow the government to carry out now — whether it's in the name of national security or protecting America's borders or making America great again — rest assured, these same practices can and will be used against you when the government decides to set its sights on you. Arresting political activists engaged in lawful, nonviolent protest activities is merely the shot across the bow.
The chilling of political speech and suppression of dissident voices are usually among the first signs that you're in the midst of a hostile takeover by forces that are not friendly to freedom.
This is how it begins.
Comment: Beyond belief? "Not so" says Bluffy the Empire Slayer!