The following article by Dan Desai Martin was posted on the ShareBlue.com website August 16, 2018:
Citizens petitioning their government, a right protected in the First Amendment of the Constitution, are being called ‘terrorists’ by the Trump administration.
In a desperate attempt to blame anything except climate change for the deadly wildfires rampaging across California, Trump’s Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke blamed “environmental terrorist groups” for the blazes. The escalation of rhetoric is a troubling trend in an administration known for authoritarian impulses.
Within the first minute of an interview with Breitbart, a site with known white supremacist ties, Zinke used the word “terrorist” to describe groups that have different political ideas than him.
Zinke claims, citing no specific examples, that environmental groups prevent the type of forest management Zinke says would prevent these catastrophic wildfires. The result is an increase in the “fuel load” that feeds fires, such as dead limbs and twigs.
View the complete article here.