Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States on September 17, 1787, depicted in a 1940 portrait by Howard Chandler Christy Public Domain/Wikipedia.
On September 17, 1787, our founding fathers signed the Constitution of the United States of America. This Constitution Day-–September 17, 2023–-marks the 236th anniversary.
A federally recognized holiday, Constitution Day was established in 2004 by Senator Robert Byrd, D-WV. Federal agencies and public schools celebrate by providing education materials related to the Constitution on September 17th.
How else can we celebrate? We can honor the protections and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. To name a few: the right to vote, the right to bear arms, the right to peaceably assemble and address our grievances with the government. Anything that threatens our Constitutional rights requires immediate attention and atonement-–not only on Constitution Day, but also every other day we live in this soon-to-be-great-again country.
Take, for example, Former President Donald Trump’s fourth indictment. Does it pose a threat to Trump’s right as an American to speak freely? Did he incite violence on January 6, 2021 at the Capitol? Is he a criminal, according to the Constitution?
Here is the gist. In August, a grand jury in Georgia charged him with four counts:
1) Conspiracy to defraud the United States
2) Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding
3) Obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding
4) Conspiracy against rights
In the introduction, the jury clarifies that Trump “had a right, like every American” to address the stolen election and “even to claim, falsely” that the results were incorrect. Yet in the next paragraph, the jury states that Trump committed a crime by defrauding the United States using “dishonesty, fraud, and deceit.” They claimed that he obstructed the January 6th congressional proceeding, and created a “conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted.”
What, exactly, did Trump say on January 6, 2021 that landed him these counts?
One quote from Trump’s speech: “Peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
Twenty minutes after lawmakers evacuated the building, a tweet from Trump: “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”
Another tweet: “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!”
“Republicans are constantly fighting like a boxer with his hands tied behind his back. It’s like a boxer, and we want to be so nice. We want to be so respectful of everybody, including bad people. We’re going to have to fight much harder, and Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us. And if he doesn’t, that will be a sad day for our country because you’re sworn to uphold our constitution. Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy.”
And lastly, the longest quote from Trump’s speech that appears in the article of impeachment: “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
According to the jury, the two latter quotes “encouraged and foreseeably resulted in lawless action at the Capitol.” This reinforced the count that he obstructed and impeded the January 6th congressional proceeding. Trump’s lawyers argued that his use of the word “fight” was metaphorical. This claim is supported by the preceding evidence that implores the crowd to remain “peaceful”-–a right protected by the First Amendment.
The metaphorical implication of the word “fight” is not the only issue at hand. The jury’s claim that he defrauded the United States using “dishonesty” also raises an issue. According to United States v. Alvarez-–a 2012 US Supreme Court Case that ruled that the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 was unconstitutional-–the government cannot criminalize lies. This is not because lies are valuable, but because the government cannot be trusted to regulate lies. Though, the Supreme Court has held that defamation, perjury, lies that inflict severe emotional distress, fraud, etc. are constitutionally unprotected.
In order to discern whether or not Trump defrauded the United States, we must first define “fraud.” In law, fraud is ‘intentional deception used to secure financial gain or deprive a victim of a legal right’. Three elements are required to prove fraud: a material false statement made with the intent to deceive, a victim’s reliance on the statement, and resulting damages.
So, in order for the count to stand, Trump must have lied about the stolen election.
Isn’t it interesting how the enemy twists good into evil? Trump exposed and denounced the rigged election to promote integrity in our election system. Then, two years after the protest in question, he is indicted for defrauding the United States using dishonesty, and creating a conspiracy against the right to vote.
This is why we must learn the Constitution. We must know our rights or lose them.
We, as Americans, have the right to voice our opinions. We have the right to stand up against-–(some might even say, “fight”)-–repressive injustices, including rigged elections. We have the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.
This is the First Amendment. This is the reason that 39 delegates signed the Constitution 236 years ago. This is why we celebrate Constitution Day on September 17th. As God-fearing patriots, it is our duty to shine light on the enemy’s scheme to prevent Trump from winning the 2024 presidential election. With Constitution Day peaking around the corner, we must advocate for our Constitutional guarantee of our God given rights. We will not hide in the face of corruption. We will expose the enemy’s attack. And you can bet that we will fight like hell!
Camryn Hambrick lives in Lexington, South Carolina with her family and labradoodle, Bob Ross. Her writing has appeared in Interlochen Review and Fish Barrel Review. If you want to continue to see independent thought and reports please “like”, comment, share with a friend, and donate to support The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.
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