The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin strongly condemns the federally-sanctioned acts of violence currently breaking across Minnesota, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents continue to threaten, beat, and shoot nonviolent protestors with impunity. As a Party grounded in the principles of self-ownership, individual rights, and civil liberties, LPWI believes that civilians, legislators, and law enforcement alike share a mandate to resist tyranny and totalitarianism in all its forms—even and especially when it dons the guise of patriotism and pretends to concepts like national security and domestic tranquility.
As we extend our thoughts to Renee Good’s loved ones and the residents of Minnesota, LPWI urges our public servants to reflect on the oath they swear to uphold to the citizens of the United States and the people they represent. Now is not the time for officials to retreat from, but rather to reinforce, the principles our institutions were crafted to enshrine. Law enforcement have a duty to defy unlawful orders. Judicial authorities have a responsibility to see that justice is done.
At the same time, we—the people—can be neither silent nor sedate. We cannot outsource our outrage: It is ours to hold and to wield. In raising our voices and standing against these flagrant displays of administrative encroachment and bureaucratic cowardice, we need not worry that our actions might provide any sort of “pretext” for state deputies of terror to exploit toward greater violence. Indeed, for too long, inaction has been the pretext.
The LPWI commends nonviolent means of direct resistance and action against the violence and slaughter of individuals anywhere, and especially at the hands of the powerful. It also calls on our channels of accountability to make the best use of the authority they presently hold: To demand transparency, resist injustice, and punish abuses. We urge all Wisconsinites to recognize the facts, reach out to their representatives, and recognize and resist the injustices being committed against their neighbors.
