An Open Letter Regarding Use of Federal Police
AN OPEN LETTER FROM
THE WESTERN METHODIST JUSTICE MOVEMENT
August 4, 2020
We… strongly reject domestic surveillance and intimidation of political opponents by governments in power and all other misuses of elective or appointive offices. The use of detention and imprisonment for the harassment and elimination of political opponents or other dissidents violates fundamental human rights.
(The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, ¶164.V.A)
As United Methodist followers of Jesus Christ, we condemn the Trump administration’s decision to send federal agents to Portland on the pretense of enforcing “law and order” against “anarchists and agitators.” We do not believe that the policing of this nation’s cities normally ought to be carried out by the federal government. In general, the protection of the cities must belong to the cities themselves. Federal involvement should either be limited to peripheral support functions as specifically requested by local authorities or to the federal enforcement of constitutional rights in the face of localities that are systematically denying them.
The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 forbids the use of the army (and by extension other branches of the armed forces) to enforce domestic policies in the United States. While the use of agents from the Department of Homeland Security, the Marshals Service, Custom and Border Protection, and the Federal Protection Service may not technically violate the letter of that law, it certainly violates the spirit. The use of federal agents dressed in military-style gear, armed with military-style weapons, and driving unmarked vehicles to snatch protestors off the streets without explanation is a clear overreach of executive power. It constitutes an overt threat against the free exercise of the fundamental right to protest guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
As United Methodist followers of Jesus Christ, we must make our voices heard. This show of force by the Trump administration is a troubling move toward authoritarianism that must be resisted. Our resistance is even more crucial given the fact that similar tactics are now being used in other cities around the nation, including Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Detroit, Kansas City, and elsewhere. The history of the twentieth century has shown how the institutions of democracy can all too easily be subverted by authoritarian leaders. We cannot allow the same to happen in the twenty-first century United States. Too much is at risk.
We urge all United Methodists to take a strong stand against the authoritarian exercise of power by the Trump administration in the ways that are best for you: Take to the streets nonviolently wearing masks and practicing physical distancing! Take to social media to express your disapproval! Write to your Congress members and Senators! And of course, vote in the upcoming election!
Yet even as we undertake these acts of resistance, let us not be distracted from the other major crises that are confronting our nation during these troubling times. We must continue to demand that the highest levels of our national government tell us the truth about the coronavirus crisis and actively participate in the development of coordinated and effective policies for addressing it. We must continue to advocate for just and caring financial policies and programs that will enable even the most vulnerable among us to weather the economic crisis currently being caused by the pandemic. And, we must continue to do the hard work of dismantling the structures and systems of racism that have been poisoning our national life since its inception. We must be diligent, vigilant and persistent until justice truly does flow down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:24)
May the grace of God be with you all.
The Western Methodist Justice Movement
For more information about this letter or about the Western Methodist Justice Movement, please contact Rev. Frank Wulf, Convener.