Dissent Is a Right: Why Trump's Admin Fails the 1776 Test

When the Founders wrote the Declaration of Independence, one of their core grievances was a crown that answered peaceful petitions with retaliation instead of relief. They wrote that whenever colonists petitioned for redress, their pleas were "answered only by repeated injury," proving that a ruler who treats public dissent as an enemy act is "unfit to be the ruler of a free people."  Today, this administration is bringing that same hostility toward dissent back into the executive branch. This administration treats press criticism, peaceful protest, and internal whistleblowing as threats to be neutralized rather than rights to be protected. Look at how the pattern tracks the old royal playbook: - King Rule #1: Attack the Free Press. The Declaration fought a crown that punished dissenting publications. Today, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr ordered an early license review of eight ABC-owned stations in April 2026 — something the agency hadn't done in over 50 years — a move ABC's parent company has called an intimidation campaign in federal court filings. In March 2026, Carr publicly warned broadcasters they could lose their licenses over "distortions" in their coverage of the Iran war. The Trump administration has repeatedly called for ABC and NBC's licenses to be revoked, branding critical, factual coverage as being from an "ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY." - King Rule #2: Punish Peaceful Protesters. The Founders demanded the right to assemble without facing royal force. Today, the administration threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 to put down largely peaceful protests in Minneapolis after an ICE agent fatally shot Renée Good. A federal judge already ruled that deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act, yet the National Guard has now occupied six American cities over the objections of local leaders, with troops still present in Memphis and Washington, D.C. today. In one documented case, federal agents used flash-bang grenades in a raid targeting a Marine Corps veteran whose only documented act was distributing water and face shields to protesters — one of many arrests at anti-ICE protests where the resulting prosecutions later fell apart in court. - King Rule #3: Retaliate Against Whistleblowers. Just as King George punished colonial officials who reported royal abuses, this administration targets the people who report government wrongdoing. More than 190 FEMA employees who formally disclosed to Congress that agency mismanagement was putting lives at risk were reportedly placed under retaliatory action afterward. A new OPM rule finalized in February 2026 strips an estimated 50,000 federal employees of whistleblower protections, routing their complaints through agency political appointees instead of the independent Office of Special Counsel. We are a democracy, not a kingdom. The job of the president is to defend the constitutional rights of every American — including the right to speak, assemble, and hold leaders accountable — not to threaten broadcasters, deploy troops against protesters, or punish the people who report wrongdoing. I demand that your administration immediately stop these attacks on the free press, protect the fundamental right to peaceful protest, and restore whistleblower protections stripped from federal employees. In America, dissent is not treason. It is the foundation of our freedom. And nobody is above the law — especially not the President.