This piece was originally published in the Washington Times.
The Senate Judiciary Committee recently grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland over a wide range of issues, including the FBI’s targeting of traditional Catholics and the treatment of pro-life activists, while ignoring violence against crisis pregnancy centers.
Likewise, the House Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government heard testimony from journalists Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger. Evident from the questioning of congressional Republicans is that the Department of Justice and the intelligence agencies have invaded territory protected by the First Amendment.
This belief is not far from the truth, as the Biden administration has tried to broadly reframe certain political speech as inciting violence or encouraging domestic extremism since 2022, at the latest.
