Ross: Non-peaceful assemblies turn into campaign ads at RNC
Aug 25, 2020, 6:25 AM | Updated: 12:46 pm

The novel coronavirus pandemic forced the Republican Party to move away from an in-person convention to a televised format. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The demonstrations in Kenosha, Wisconsin, against the latest police shooting turned violent again last night. The video of tear gas and burning cars was all too familiar – but there couldn’t have been a better backdrop for the opening session of the – where the theme of law and order came back again and again:
“Democrats won’t let you go to church, but they’ll let you protest,” Ohio Representative Jim Jordan said. “Democrats won’t let you go to work, but they’ll let you riot.”
“We won’t settle for violence in our neighborhoods or at our border,” Florida Representative Matt Gaetz said. “We won’t settle for decades of bad decisions by basement dwelling Joe Biden.”
“Our police need more funding, not less,” Georgia Rep. Vernon Jones said.
“Trump is the bodyguard of Western civilization,” said Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk.
“Not a single person in the out-of-control mob you saw at our house was charged with a crime,” said Mark McCloskey.
“What you saw happen to us could just as easily happen to any of you,” Patty McCloskey added.
Those last two voices – Mark and Patty McCloskey, who a month ago famously stood outside their home aiming guns at a group of protesters who they say threatened them while walking through their gated neighborhood in St. Louis.
It’s all a reminder that the First Amendment absolutely guarantees the right to peaceful assembly – but it also guarantees the right to turn non-peaceful assemblies into instant campaign ads.
Just something to keep in mind.
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