On my drive home a day after Saturday’s shooting, I heard the iconic song by John Lennon: Imagine. Listen to the words. How are you doing? That’s a text or e-mail or voice message I’ve received countless times over the last few weeks. As a crisis strategist, I do the work of supporting others so it’s not a time for me to be anything but strong. Mainly, I hope to help clarify and bring light. That can mean sharing analysis on various media outlets through my legal, crisis strategist, and political analyst lenses. On Monday morning, I was the first guest on All Talk with Kevin Dietz on WJR Radio in Detroit. We agreed my city of Minneapolis and my state of Minnesota are in crisis. How we get out isn’t easy. Some suggestions:
1) For whatever remains of violent offender arrests, I.C.E. should be given local law enforcement support to maintain a safe space between peaceful protesters and agent operations.
2) Agents should operate legally and be ready to show actual documentation for any searches and arrests.
3) Peaceful protesters should remain peaceful. My strong recommendation is to NOT carry a lethal weapon and to stay away from any in-the-face moments with an officer or agent.
4) Local and federal leaders should work together and not throw rhetoric. Case law speaks against fighting words. Leadership is powerful. It should also know when to model calm.
Click here for my entire conversation with host Kevin Dietz from 9:18am Eastern Time on January 26. I share the date line and time stamp because this situation seems to change daily–if not hourly.
I endorse First Amendment rights to speech, assemble, and protest. What some people don’t quite understand is that each of those rights usually comes with time, place, and manner restrictions. All states have statutes that lay out how and where you can actually do any peaceful assembly. I call on my former profession–the journalists–to mix in stories that help people understand the nuances as well as these legislatively-created rules.
And…Remember Lennon’s words: They give a call to action we need now.
