(ConservativeSense.com) – The influential conservative think tank Washington Policy Center has warned that a proposal put forward by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson would criminalize free speech and create an Orwellian “Ministry of Truth” in the United States.
The organization’s director for education Liv Finne said, “This bill will create a two-tiered justice system where some people have free speech and others don’t, and that is a dangerous path for us to be set upon.”
Attorney General Ferguson published a report in 2022 with recommendations on combating domestic terrorism, and a bill to establish a panel to implement its findings has been introduced to the state legislature with the backing of Democrats. Rep. Bill Ramos, who introduced the bill, said the panel should figure out how to identify domestic terrorists before they strike.
According to the Attorney General, the key areas to watch out for are “disinformation”, anti-government ideologies, and white supremacism – tools utilized by left-wing advocates to silence conservatives. This will lead to targeting of certain groups and their right to speak, said the think tank. Finne added that words can never be violence and to equate the two is an affront to people’s liberties.
Ferguson however said the purpose is not to silence but to reduce political violence. He said any panel will be comprised of both Democrats and Republicans and will merely examine what he called rising political extremism and ways to prevent this from erupting into aggression or even deadly terror attacks.
Some Republicans and conservatives remain skeptical and believe the Democrats have an agenda to destroy free speech in order to stifle their opposition. This is presented under the guise of confronting “hate” or “extremism.” Countering so-called “disinformation” is the newest phrase used. It purports that any dissent from the narrative on climate change, for example, or mass immigration, amounts to disinformation and needs to be closed down.
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