On Tuesday, a federal grand jury declined to indict a group of Democratic lawmakers who posted a video urging servicemembers to refuse to carry out illegal orders.
Let’s be clear: The lawmakers’ speech was plainly protected by the First Amendment.
In the United States, everyone — from a sitting U.S. senator to an everyday American — has the right to say our troops should refuse to carry out unlawful orders. Nobody should ever face arrest for doing so. And no prosecutor should ever argue otherwise.
All federal officials, from President Trump on down, take an oath to uphold the Constitution. Attempting to have political opponents — or anyone — jailed for their protected expression flatly violates that oath. The Framers intended the First Amendment to prohibit precisely such an abuse of power.
These charges should not have been presented to a grand jury. Thankfully, the brave Americans serving on that jury understood their awesome responsibility in our constitutional system. The prosecution ignored theirs.
In the United States, we shouldn’t have to thank a grand jury for preventing six elected officials from being arrested for exercising their First Amendment rights in a way that angered the president. But this is where we are.
Red lines are being crossed. Free speech and the rule of law are miracles of the American experiment. Now is the time for all Americans — regardless of party or politics — to demand our elected leaders honor their oaths to the Constitution.
