Conservatives Say the Justice System Has Been Weaponized. Cop City Proves Them Right.
In the wake of the Trump indictments, conservatives are concerned that the justice system is being used to target political enemies. They’re right about that — but as the repression of Cop City protesters shows, they’re wrong about who the real targets are.
Cop City protester Manuel Terán was murdered by police in Atlanta. (CHENEY ORR / AFP via Getty Images)
When Donald Trump was indicted on seven charges related to his mishandling of classified documents and attempting to hide his possession of those materials from federal authorities, Republicans reacted precisely as you would expect.
Marco Rubio predicted the fall of the republic. Kari Lake delivered a “public service announcement” that attempts to hold the former president accountable would result in armed resistance. Kevin McCarthy seemingly forgot that the president doesn’t hand down federal indictments. And presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis sanctimoniously declared that “the weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society.”
DeSantis and company are actually right to be concerned with the weaponization of law enforcement against political enemies. They are, however, completely wrong about who actually gets targeted and just how long this has been happening.
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