Unfortunately it’ll be taxpayers who foot the bill.
A. By being black
B. By being a woman
C. By being a Democrat
D. By being in Georgia.
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I wonder if we got the whole story of what happened? Did Rep Cannon purposely escalate things until the guards had to arrest her? Her spectacle would have been all but ignored but for the arrest.
By being in a place she had no right to be in, or remaining there after being told by someone with authority that she needed to leave. That’s the legal definition of trespass, anyway.
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It seems that for her to trespass in the Capitol Building she would have had to breach the doors to the Governor’s Office (read: lair). Otherwise I would think she has every right to be in any public area as well as all of the Members Only areas.
Then again … Georgia.
She was told she couldn’t go inside and that she needed to leave. If Marjorie Taylor Greene were banging on Ilhan Omar’s office door, the cops told her to bugger off, and she refused, they would have probable cause to arrest her for trespassing. Maybe it will turn out that she has the right to be there after all, and maybe it will turn out that the cops don’t actually have authority to tell her to leave, but probable cause is judged by the facts available at the time of the arrrest.
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Are you saying he’s be arrested for knocking on a door though? Because that’s what happened
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I doubt it, because the white house and senate cops are savvier than that. And when he and Masty Gaetz invaded a House SCIF they were not arrested. But the point remains, being a legislator interested in a piece of legislation does not convey unlimited right to be present during its route through the two houses and executive. The GA cops over-reacted (classic civil rights era tactic to provoke that) but it does not mean she or any other uninvited legislator had a right to be in that room.
They were attempting to exercise their authority. They knew she was a legislator, so when she knocked on the door, the officer felt disrespected and wasn’t going to be ignored. We see this too often with People of Color in encounters with Police- an escalation by Police to a physical encounter, then Police having to overcharge to justify their behavior.
In this case, the Troopers didn’t feel like they had to answer to her for their behavior, so they escalated and went hands on. Look what Marsha Blackburn pulled in DC- her aide gets pulled over, Blackburn jumps out of the car, flashes her lapel pin and off they go again. It worked because the Capitol Police can be made to answer to Senators in a way that Georgia State Troopers don’t have to answer to that this Black Woman Democrat in Georgia.
Wanna bet that those GSP Troopers are pissed that the Black Woman DA dropped the charges?
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Racist intent does not matter to the legal standard of probable cause.
Ms. Willis did her job, which is to use her discretion in handling criminal complaints brought to her by LEOs to render justice. By not making a presentment to the grand jury, she pretty clearly told the cops “WTF did you do this for?” She slapped them down.
You do realize she’s the one leading the investigation of, and possible prosecution for, Drumpf’s attempt to get the SoS to change the result?
So apologize to her now for your inane sarcasm, or go fuck yourself.
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Racist intent and hurt Police feelings have certainly replaced/become PC in too many cases.
Everyone involved could have handled that situation differently. She didn’t have to knock, but what was the harm? Yes, the governor might get pissed that someone knocked on his door while he was signing that bill into law. Yes, if she knocked loud enough and long enough, then these Troopers might find themselves out of their cushy assignments. This was blown out of proportion, especially since the incident was clearly different from what was described in the police report.
Again, these Troopers were trying to exercise their authority. They didn’t like that she ignored them, and they decided to exercise their policing powers to punish her.
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You appear to be missing context here. The only reason I pointed out they had probable cause is because it will prevent Rep. Cannon from prevailing in a false arrest lawsuit. There is no cause of action for uncommonly stupid arrest.
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I think this photo will bite Kemp and co. hard in the ass. It’s the perfect backdrop for damning billboards and memes.
“Seven smug white guys corrupting voting rights. Because racism is all the Republican Party stands for.”
It is. It is also an expression of your presence and is therefore speech.
Unless she had a battering ram in her possession or used some other means of attempting unlawful entry, she just might have a civil rights case.
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Thanks for stating why you mentioned probable cause. That was instructive. While it may protect the Troopers from civil action, they certainly looked bad hauling her out the way they did over knocking on the door.
Your hypothetical with Omar and Greene doesn’t work. Cannon wasn’t banging on the door- that was the narrative laid out in the police report. Greene was very offended when her gaffe about Guam led to the Representative from Guam and some NG Troops showing up at her office with some treats. She freaked out and claimed they were threatening her. Cannon on the other hand knocked on the door and was arrested and charged with felonies.
BTW, I may have been missing your context. Please don’t miss mine.
Thank you for objectively missing my context for the sake of complaining about something else.
Three is enough.
The motherfuckers put the n*r bh in her place and fear into all the others. Mission accomplished.
Her crime was being a black, female daring to demand her rights as a citizen and as a legislator. Got to slap that shit down. I am really amazed she got out of there without being bludgeoned and kicked in the head.
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