Link to the May 2019 Michigan Libertarian
Bay City, MI – Delegates to the Libertarian Party of Michigan state convention made their feelings about the abuse of power clear on April 13th; they resolved to free Julian Assange and to stop Police brutality.
Stop Police Brutality
Over two-thirds of those attending the event at the Courtyard Marriot in Bay City want to see the firing and prosecution of law enforcement officers who use excessive force, as well as those in the judicial branch who enable them. They expressed this sentiment in the resolution that read…
Whereas the initiation of force by state police officers is often done under false or unclear pretenses,
that all individuals possess the same set of rights,
that individual rights are not suspended when accusations are made against an individual,
and that a free society cannot co-exist within a militarized police state.
We, the Libertarian Party of Michigan, resolve
that awarding impunity to police who violate the individual rights of an accused is more harmful than the alleged crime itself,
that the perpetual betrayal of the public’s trust by law enforcement officers is an indication of a culture of tyranny,
and that the judges and the state police officers responsible for protecting or participation in
this systematic aggression should be immediately removed from their positions of authority and prosecuted for the crimes they committed in their betrayal of the people.
Free Assange
The convention also appears to be a hotbed of support for Wiki Leaks founder Julian Assange. Most Libertarians view him as a political prisoner who is being prosecuted to punish him for exposing “the most grievous of crimes” by government officials. They expressed this in the following resolution:
Whereas the Libertarian Party of Michigan holds that the most grievous of crimes is the mass murder committed by the federal government overseas;
Whereas journalism is not in any way, shape or form, a crime and is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution;
Let it be RESOLVED that whistle-blowers crimes provide a valuable service for the American people, and that Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, and all other whistle-blowers, journalists and their publishers must have all charges dropped and be released from detention immediately.
