DigBoston newspaper will resist any attempt to impose martial law on the US

On Monday, immediately following some of the most important protests for racial justice in history, President Donald Trump threatened to declare war on America. 

In a Rose Garden speech, he said:

“…[W]e are ending the riots and lawlessness that has spread throughout our country. We will end it now. Today, I have strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets. Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled. If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”

Other presidents have called out the military against American citizens and immigrant residents in the past—notably at the height of similar black-led civil rights protests in the 1960s. But it is rarely a good idea. Especially when it’s proposed by a hard right wing and infamously racist president, surrounded by advisors that could justifiably be called open fascists. And when it’s prescribed so broadly, against the entire country.

So was this a move toward fascism and dictatorship? Given the pushback since the speech, it was surely not a very successful one thus far. Immediately followed, as it was, by the abhorrent spectacle of Trump leading craven civilian and military toadies to the nearby St. John’s Church for a photo op where he waved a Bible around like a stage prop—after police and National Guard units cleared thousands of peaceful protestors out of the way with tear gas and flashbangs. 

Still, at this juncture, my partners Chris Faraone, John Loftus, and I now find it imperative to be absolutely crystal clear that this newspaper, DigBoston, stands for democracy in the United States (and indeed around the world). It is our duty as a regional newspaper of record run by professional journalists to cover the news of the day as it happens and to thereby give voice to all communities in Boston and beyond struggling to defend and expand that democracy. Until its benefits are truly enjoyed by all the people of this nation.

We will, therefore, always seek to shine the light of solid fact-based reporting and editorial analysis on any threats to democracy—that is, to the right of everyone that makes their home in the “land of the free” to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” From wherever such threats may emerge. Be it some fatigue-wearing band of racist cranks in the suburbs. Or the racist crank who currently occupies the Oval Office.

Should any attempt be made to send the military against American cities to quell protests for justice for African Americans in the Black Lives Matter movement and their allies—or for any other reason in the years to come—this newspaper will resist such an illegal and immoral occupation with every means at our disposal. We will continue to report the truth—to “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted”—until we are forcibly shut down. And afterward. Taking our operation underground if necessary. Until democracy is inevitably restored.

We will not be silenced.

This is our covenant with the communities we serve. 

Solidarity.

Jason Pramas is executive editor and associate publisher of DigBoston.