Author and publisher Max Blumenthal was arrested October 25, 2019. Blumenthal is as highly regarded, progressive journalist who digs up unpopular truths, such as the ongoing Venezuelan (VZ) US-orchestrated coup. The DC police, which most likely was the MPD, not the Capitol police made a big show of arresting him. They threatened to break down his front door and surrounded his house. He was arrested in his pyjamas but the coppers relented a bit by allowing him to take a warm coat. He was then put through various indignities and illegal acts. He was shackled hand and foot for hours. He was transferred to a succession of overcrowded cells. Blumenthal was denied the opportunity to call counsel.

Many articles are available on the internet, of which I am linking three.

Consortium News 10/28/19 - Grayzone Editor Max Blumenthal arrested months after reporting on Venezuelan opposition violence

Max Blumenthal, the editor of the news site The Grayzone, was arrested on the morning of Oct. 25 on a fabricated charge related to the siege of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, D.C., that took place between April and May.

A team of D.C. police officers appeared at Blumenthal’s door at just after 9 AM, demanding entry and threatening to break his door down. A number of officers had taken positions on the side of his home as though they were prepared for a SWAT-style raid.

Blumenthal was hauled into a police van and ultimately taken to D.C. central jail, where he was held for two days in various cells and cages. He was shackled by his hands and ankles for over five hours in one such cage along with other inmates. His request for a phone call was denied by D.C. police and corrections officers, effectively denying him access to the outside world.

Citizen Truth 11/02/19 - Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal arrested months after reporting on Venezuelan opposition violence.

Blumenthal was informed that he was accused of simple assault by a Venezuelan opposition member. He declared the charge completely baseless.

“This charge is a 100 percent false, fabricated, bogus, untrue, and malicious lie,” Blumenthal declared. “It is clearly part of a campaign of political persecution designed to silence me and The Grayzone for our factual journalism exposing the deceptions, corruption and violence of the far-right Venezuelan opposition.”

The arrest warrant was five months old. According to an individual familiar with the case, the warrant for Blumenthal’s arrest was initially rejected. Strangely, this false charge was revived months later without the defendant’s knowledge.

National Lawyers Guild International Committee 10/28/19 - NLG - IC statement on the arrest of Max Blumenthal, the attack on Venezuela and the repression of dissent

A group of U.S.-based justice activists were invited to remain in the embassy by the Venezuelan diplomats, representing the internationally recognized government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, who were forced to leave the country. The Embassy Protection Collective remained inside the embassy for weeks, conducting a vigil inside while the building was surrounded 24/7 by far-right supporters of a coup in Venezuela.

Washington, D.C., police allowed this group to lay siege to the embassy, denying participants in the Embassy Protection Collective access to food and water. Utilities were turned off including water, electricity and other essential services reaching the embassy in order to drive out the protectors and install a U.S.-supported representative in a nearly unprecedented assault on the protections granted to diplomatic installations, particularly embassies and consulates.

These actions came in violation of the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations which requires the U.S. to recognize the inviolability of embassies and to “take all appropriate steps to protect the premises of the mission against any intrusion.” The Vienna Convention was ratified by the United States in 1972 and thus is a part of federal law.

Blumenthal is being charged with assault due to a complaint by one of these supporters of the U.S-backed claimant to the Venezuelan presidency, Juan Guaido. During the Embassy Protection Collective’s vigil, supporters and others would attempt to deliver food to those inside, who included two reporters for Blumenthal’s media outlet, “The Grayzone.” Several people, including the president of Veterans for Peace, were arrested for attempting to bring food and water to the embassy protectors.

Donald Trump's government shows its true authoritarian colors

I am shocked that Max's arrest has not been essayed by any c99 members. Personally, I am trying to recover equanimity ever this outrageous action. After several days, 10 now, since the arrest, why has no one on this board made comments about this looming disaster?

Until the arrest, I was wavering in believing that El Trumpo might have some redeeming qualities, like standing off the deep state. Now, I'm not so sure. Who ordered the arrest? Justice Dept. DCMPD? Lover of Press Freedumb DJT? Remnants of the neoliberal/neocon establishment? Who dunnit?

This matters greatly. The overbearing, excessively intimidating tactics and purposeful administration of discomfort to a peaceable reporter is frightening. Repeat: this is frightening. We have seen police authority overreach in high profile cases like Manafort and Roger Stone, neither of whom are angels but neither of whom deserved the extraordinary harshness of their arrests. In Manafort's case, he also was placed in solitary confinement. This was a means to obtain his parroting of whatever R. Swan Müller (aka Andrew Weissmann) wanted him to say. It is testament to Manafort that he didn't yield to the coercion.

But both Manafort and Stone are political players. They know how the game is played. Now journalists (as opposed to the MSM stenographers) are getting a taste of third world justice. Proof we are living in a banana republic.

So, is this a unique occurrence or more likely a harbinger of more journalistic abuse to come? The First Amendment is now in severe jeopardy.

The assault on journalism

Drumpf has railed against the Lame Stream Media frequently for being enemy of the people. Is not now this arrest of Max Blumenthal only the first act of intimidation against real investigative journalists? Blumenthal has done fine work on Syria, Gaza, VZ, and other places. He is a nettle under the saddle of TPTB. Whether Trumpian or Klintonian, this makes no difference. Silence dissent. At first the governmental methods will be crude, such as the Blumenthal arrest. But emboldened by the non-response of the MSM to this usurpation of journalistic freedom, the USG undoubtedly will take harsher action against truth-tellers.

What to believe?

Censorship comes in various disguises, most dressed up in laudatory terms, such as "fact-checking" or "hate speech" proscription. The Dems, almost to the last one, accept the lying media as "part of the game". This is not a game we citizens should choose to play. By their misdeeds, the congressional Dem party is shredding the remnants of our Constitutional republic. If Trump joins in, then freedom in Amerika is doomed.

Democrats daily display wanton disregard for due process. Schiff makes up rules on the fly. He should be under federal investigations for his lying, crimes, and coup plotting. But who will tell the story?

Cancel Culture and the quest for truth

Cancel culture

Call-out culture (also known as outrage culture) is a form of public shaming that aims to hold individuals and groups accountable for their actions by calling attention to behavior that is perceived to be problematic, usually on social media.[1]

A variant of the term, cancel culture, describes a form of boycott in which someone (usually a celebrity) who has shared a questionable or unpopular opinion, or has had behavior that is perceived to be either offensive or problematic called out on social media is "canceled"; they are boycotted by their followers or supporters, often leading to declines in celebrities' (almost always social media personalities) careers and fanbase.[2][3]

The expression "cancelling", in reference to cancel culture, has been used since 2015, with widespread usage of the expression beginning in 2018

When social media giants refuse to acknowledge the existence of fact, any fact, and furthermore refuses to identify or recognize divergent views from PC-derived norms, i.e., elite-approved talking points, how does the public learn? The few, political bloggers and junkies, such as ourselves, are deeply involved with finding solutions to the problems. Others in the populace care more about sporting events and Walmart sales items. They are totally unaware of the coup in progress. The 99% largely are unaware of their complicity by being sheep, lead by wolves, not dogs, to their own degradation and impoverishment.

Reformulation of my understanding of this First Amendment assault in regards to governance results from this arrest. Trump has been unmercifully assaulted by the media since the day he announced his candidacy. The coup, set in motion before his election, under the auspices of Obomber and his errand boy, J.O. Brennan, has given Trump nothing but trouble. Does Trump really know about Blumenthal's arrest, since the MSM is assiduously not reporting it?

Is some Obama-holdover responsible for this? Trump has been plagued by spies implanted into his administration such as Stephan Halper, Alex Vindman, Erik Ciaramella, many of which are being revealed for the first time. Trump approved of their hiring or retention in government service. Is he being betrayed by them now?

Trump's record of hiring has been dismal at best: Russia Hawk McMaster, neocons like Ciaramella, obstructors like Vindman, Gina Waterboarder Haspell, John Bolton...the list goes on. It is not outside the realm of possibility that Trump is being bamboozled. But is that really true?

Yes, Trump is attempting to suppress a coup which becomes more blatant and reckless with the passing days. But now does he really represent only the repression of one elite faction in favor of another? What happens to truth? What happens to responsive government when neither the facts nor honest assessment are not publicly provided?

An apology by the USG would go a long way to reassure me. Dropping the flimsy assault charges against Blumenthal before trial would go a long way. Dismissing charges at trial would be almost as hopeful.

Many questions. Few answers.

In the meantime consider the following:

View host Joy Behar urges Democrats to LIE to people in order to seize their constitutional rights

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMLTIk7VX6I]