Opinion: Not OK to picket justices at home

The right to peaceable assembly is enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Assembly along with petition for redress are two of the five freedoms most often forgotten when citizens are asked to name the freedoms listed in the First Amendment.

Over the years, it’s been debated exactly what “the right of the people peaceably to assemble” means.

When we see a news reporter on a national television outlet, standing in front of a burning building and intoning, “I’m here at what has been a mostly peaceful protest,” we have lost all sense of reality.

Protestors have come to believe that they have the right to accost anyone they disagree with, regardless of whether or not those they are protesting are even public figures. They congregate at private homes with bullhorns and shout at the houses.

Whether or not this is “peaceful” and “petitioning the Government for redress of grievances” is arguable.

All this came to a head recently when thugs, miscreants and other lowlifes (I refuse to refer to these humanoids as peaceful demonstrators) decided to picket the homes of Supreme Court justices. Without a doubt, these goons had every intention of intimidating the justices into changing their vote on the abortion issue under consideration.

In what sounded like a defense of these hoodlums, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, “I don’t have an official U.S. government position on where people protest.” Unfortunately for Psaki, the U.S. government does have an official position on this.

That position is:

U.S. Code 1507 – Picketing or parading

Whoever, with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice, or with the intent of influencing any judge, juror, witness, or court officer, in the discharge of his duty, pickets or parades in or near a building housing a court of the United States, or in or near a building or residence occupied or used by such judge, juror, witness, or court officer, or with such intent uses any sound-truck or similar device or resorts to any other demonstration in or near any such building or residence, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

Nothing in this section shall interfere with or prevent the exercise by any court of the United States of its power to punish for contempt.

I assume Psaki was speaking for her boss.

Rube Render is a former Clovis city commissioner and former chair of the Curry County Republican Party. Contact him:

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