U.S. Attorney General Barr is proposing that antiracist and “antifa” activities be considered sedition, which is treason. If this push is successful, things are likely to get very, very bad. It will restrict or eliminate First Amendment protection of speech for those on the Left.

There doesn’t need to be a successful prosecution; the mere possibility of a serious charge will deter some people from acting. The New York Times has also reported that the Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into John Bolton’s memoir. I have no love for Mr. Bolton, but regardless of any charges, the effect is the same: A warning to those who might publish books critical of Mr. Trump and his administration. It’s another attack on free speech.

This is what fascism looks like:

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Martin Niemöller

As a final note: I am a socialist.