On June 3 a peaceful demonstration was held in Sequim to petition our government to end police discrimination, injury and murder against African American citizens.
This First Amendment right was marred by incidents in Forks and Sequim.
The Forks’ investigation is being obstructed, and the more dangerous episode in Sequim is not being addressed forthrightly.
That was the appearance of automatic weapons-toting vigilantes. They were duped, wittingly or unwittingly, by false white supremacy reports of an invasion of anti-fascists intent on property destruction at the Sequim Black Lives Matter protest.
The evidence is that this white supremacy scheme was to disrupt peaceful protests against racism by provoking violence.
Race was at the core of the violence in Forks and the threat thereof in Sequim.
This raises grave moral and legal issues.
The Washington State Constitution, Article 1, Section 24, guarantees a citizen’s right to bear arms in defense of self or state.
However, it specifically denies that the right authorizes “individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.”
The armed body of men that showed up in Sequim is a disaster waiting to happen particularly with its dependence on white supremacist intelligence, its dubious judgment, and its enthusiasm for vigilantism.
The FBI recently elevated racially-motivated violent extremists as a national threat priority.
We must address this race issue straightforwardly and consider some common-sense controls over brandishing automatic weapons in public to repair our community’s soiled reputation.
Malcolm D. McPhee
Sequim