That’s Not Protesting. That’s a Riot.

by Senator Simcha Felder

The difference between an objection and an insurrection is at least a thousand miles wide. As Americans, it’s vital that we respect the first and have zero tolerance for its dreadful antithesis.

Unfortunately, following our presidential election, what we’ve seen on the streets of America, and right here in New York City, are quite the opposite of what the framers of our Constitution and Bill of Rights had in mind when they insisted that certain freedoms be guaranteed.

The First Amendment guarantees the right of the people to assemble peaceably. But the right to assemble is not absolute. To prevent chaos, government can impose restrictions on the time, place, and manner of that peaceful assembly. More, the First Amendment does not provide the right to conduct an assembly at which there is a clear and present danger of riot, disorder, or interference with traffic on public streets, or other immediate threat to public safety or order.

The assembly we’ve seen on the streets following the recent election is far from peaceful. What we’ve witnessed is neither a Martin Luther King Jr. nor Ghandi-esque attempt to bring peaceful and respectful attention to a matter that some feel needs redress.

What we’ve seen is chaos.

Like it or not, Donald Trump was elected and uncontested by American due process—a process that we hold sacrosanct in this land. Barring a violation of the law, this man will be president of these United States for the next four years. So if you live here, he is your President.

There have been the “Kill Trump” messages—a public call to assassinate the President-Elect—and, in a new low, unthinkable until it was actualized, signs that call for attacks on the first lady.

Yes, unthinkable. And, frankly, unforgivable.

But thugs will be thugs. The behavior we’ve seen has not been limited to mere words, but has also encompassed assaults and destruction of property; burnings of flags and lootings of stores. The very people who claim to fear that Donald Trump will destroy America seem eager to do that job themselves.

These rioters who are breaking the law must be condemned in the strongest terms, not emboldened by our elected officials. Further, our police must be empowered to protect the vast majority of our citizens. Because that vast majority of law-abiding citizens, regardless of who they voted for, also have rights. We have the right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And no one that I know is happy about having the streets blocked when they’re trying to get to work. No one is particularly thrilled about seeing our streets turn into carnivals of potential—and sometimes actual—violence because a mixed-message has somehow been received by these protestors; a message that allows them to believe what they are doing when they break the law is somehow appropriate because it is tolerated.

Mid-term elections are only two years away. The older I get, the better I realize how fast two years can go by. And the next presidential election is only two years after that. There’s plenty of time for voices to be heard, for peaceful assemblies, and for the many legal ways that people in this country have to address their grievances.

In the mean time, we need to uphold and enforce the laws of this land which, regardless of who is in power, really define what America is all about.

This article first appeared in The Jewish Press on Nov. 25, 2016