Our nation is under siege. But this siege is not the result of some domestic or foreign terrorist threat. This siege on our great republic comes from within the very institutions for which we have entrusted our nation with. The establishment, in concert with their allies within the Department of Justice, have conducted an unanticipated, unprecedented raid on the Mar-a-Lago residence of former President Donald Trump.

Our institutions have betrayed us. They have engaged in conduct that is more becoming of a Third World country where opposition battalions regularly raid the residences of their political adversary and often kill them. They have proven themselves wolves, but they have not donned sheep’s clothing.

This is a clear attempt to indict Trump for political gain; the establishment has shown their cards, and they know that most will not bat an eye. A federal grand jury need only find probable cause to believe that Trump broke some nebulous federal statute in order to indict him.

This is a time-honored tradition of the Justice Department and the establishment; the criminal bar is so low to indict that even the innocent are often entangled in the criminal process because of it, and they are invariably compelled to undergo years of litigation because of it.

Since Trump became president, this game has continued. Investigation after investigation yielded indictment after indictment and guilty plea after guilty plea against respectable and benign officials whose only transgression was supporting Trump and opposing the establishment.

The Justice Department is fully aware that politicians are presumed guilty in the United States, regardless of evidence to the contrary, and they will use this fact to engage in absolute thuggery to utilize their vast resources to punish anyone who threatens their authority.

Just as with the two political impeachments that Trump faced, so too will Democrats use this raid to justify that Trump is a criminal and involved in high-level crimes. They will do the exact same thing that they did during the impeachments: They will use their hatred for Trump as evidence of criminal conduct, decide for themselves that he is deserving of punishment, punish him and use that punishment as proof that he is a criminal. It is an unforgiving circle.

The establishment-run Justice Department will do just the same. They will use this raid and inevitable indictment—one that they concocted themselves—as proof that Trump is a criminal. And guess what? People will buy it.

Trump committed many despicable acts while in power: He riled up his supporters, which eventually resulted in a riot. He maligned his vice president. He uttered vicious things about fine people and aligned himself with some awful characters. However, this does not make him a criminal, nor does it make him, as a past president, worthy of such punishment. Instead, the establishment has shown to the American people that there is such a thing as a political criminal—someone despised by the establishment.

In politics, it seems, if you can’t beat them, put them in prison.

Regardless of how the White House or the Justice Department spin this, the public’s faith in our institutions has been compromised. This incident has shown that our institutions will bend a knee, and the people who undertake such action will do so out of fear of suffering the same fate.

This was a dark day for the United States. I lament the demise of institutions that were meant to aid us. But America is still here. It is an ever-present power that will dispel the darkness forged by the wicked. The dreams of a beautiful America will whisper from behind the shoulders of honorable men who will forgo the seduction of power and rise to defend our nation’s values. The virtues of liberty, hope, and freedom will lead us past these dark days and on to a brighter future.

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