Politics

Archives: November 2026

Excerpts from Reason's vaults

Reason Staff |

archives | Illustration: Rafael Lopez/November 1986 issue of Reason
(Illustration: Rafael Lopez/November 1986 issue of Reason)

5 years ago
November 2021

"The PATRIOT Act was the fruit of a poisoned tree, and we can still see the shadow of its overgrowth in 2021 as the Biden administration transfers its own 'domestic terror' anxieties onto anything related to Trumpism following the January 6 melee. The administration in June issued a new strategy report on domestic terrorism, and while so far it seeks no new lawmaking power, that report troublingly insists that 'it is equally important that the Federal Government engage in efforts to prevent individuals from being drawn into the grip of domestic terrorism in the first instance. That means reducing both supply and demand of recruitment materials by limiting widespread availability online and bolstering resilience to it by those who nonetheless encounter it, among other measures.' That smacks of the sort of infiltration and harassment of people who have, as of yet, merely engaged in First Amendment protected activities."
Brian Doherty
"The PATRIOT Act's Poisoned Tree" … [Subscribe to continue reading]

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