Inslee uses Jan 6 anniversary to attack free speech

On the anniversary of the riot at the US Capitol and protests in front of the governor’s executive residence in Olympia, Washington, Jay Inslee announced new legislation aimed at curbing free speech.

"January 6 is a reminder not only of the insurrection that happened one year ago, but that there is an ongoing coup attempt by candidates and elected officials to overturn our democracy. They are willing to do this by provoking violence, and today I proposed we do something about that in Washington."

The Democrat Governor made the statement announcing his support for legislation being written that would outlaw attempts by candidates and elected officials to "…spread lies about free and fair elections when it has the likelihood to stoke violence."

"Soon, legislation will be introduced in the state House and Senate that would make it a gross misdemeanor for candidates and elected officials to knowingly lie about elections. The proposed law is narrowly tailored to capture only those false statements that are made for the purpose of undermining the election process or results and is further limited to lies that are likely to incite or cause lawlessness," Inslee said.

It is unclear what "coup" Inslee is referring to in Washington state after referencing the protests at the governor's mansion. The closest to an insurrection that the US has seen locally in Inslee’s time in office has been the armed occupation of six blocks in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, taken over by Antifa and Black Lives Matter terrorists who called the area an "autonomous zone."

Police, law enforcement and first responders were banned from the area leading to multiple deaths. Signs adorned the barricades of the zone which read, "You are now leaving the USA," and "You are now entering the Republic of Capitol Hill."

Ironically, during a press conference following the establishment of the zone which made international headlines and was well documented in videos, Inslee claimed that he had never heard of the armed occupation of a portion of the largest city in his state, which was incited lawlessness after the terrorists took over a police station which was ordered abandoned.

"Well, that’s news to me. So, I’ll have to reserve any comment about it. I have not heard anything about that from any credible source," before chuckling to himself.

Answering a follow-up question about the sone he then said, "…people would find a way to have safety," and that he was demobilizing the national guard which he sent in unarmed to downtown Seattle to quell riots after they had, for the most part, concluded several nights beforehand.

Inslee has a track record of being dishonest. Some of the highlights include lying about not raising taxes to get elected and yet has consistently raised them during his time in office making the state so unaffordable people are fleeing in droves. He lied about a massive drought he said was coming to Western Washington during his campaign for President. In his most recent lie, he claimed to have "…won the Super Bowl," referencing what he viewed as his success against the coronavirus before numbers spiked again to record highs, despite his onerous restrictions.

Inslee’s methods at combating the virus were so unsuccessful, all metrics for success and a return to normal with no restrictions have been removed from state websites.

Inslee claimed "…we are all in this together," during the outbreak of the pandemic before forcing businesses to shut down while carving out exemptions for friends, political allies, campaign donors, and government operations were allowed to remain open. While no government worker missed a paycheck, Inslee’s bungling of distributing payments to people collecting unemployment resulted in a massive fraud where Nigerian scammers stole $1 billion dollars from Washington’s unemployment agency. People on unemployment did not see checks for months thanks to Inslee ordering the removal of safeguards that prevented fraud in the payment system.

Before Thanksgiving 2020, Inslee and his wife appeared in a video and told all Washingtonians to avoid contact and stay home. Receipts from Inslee’s security detail during the holiday weekend obtained through a public disclosure request show that his Washington State Trooper bodyguards rented skis. Inslee is known for his love of skiing.

Inslee himself is a lawyer and likely knows that this legislation is a violation of the first amendment but cited cases attempting to head off the inevitable challenges to any legislation that is drafted.

"The U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that speech can be limited where it is likely to incite lawlessness, Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969). Unlike the state supreme court decision in Rickert v. State, Public Disclosure Com’n, 161 Wash.2d 843 (2007), which addresses false statements made by one candidate about another candidate, this legislation is not about what candidates can say about each other."

In the 2007 decision referenced by Inslee, the court struck down a law that bars candidates from intentionally making false statements about their opponents. It was ruled a violation of the First Amendment.

In the case, a candidate was fined $1,000 by the state Public Disclosure Commission for false claims about a state senator who the candidate was challenging.

Then-Justice James Johnson, writing for the majority, said "The notion that the government, rather than the people, may be the final arbiter of truth in political debate is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment."

Inslee is attempting to circumvent the ruling. In his press release, he said, "This legislation attempts to follow the relevant U.S. and state supreme court opinions on this issue. We’re talking about candidates and elected officers knowingly throwing bombs at democracy itself when doing so is likely to result in violence," Inslee said. "We can outlaw actions that provoke political violence and in doing so also protect our democracy. There is more that can be done by states and Congress to protect our democracy. I am open to any proposal that will protect the will of the voters and the institutions they use to decide who governs them."

Ironically, members of Inslee’s own party have "spread lies about free and fair elections" such as pushing the false Russian collusion narrative, certifying that Stacey Abrams was the Governor of Georgia when she lost by 50,000 votes and closer to home, Progressive Representative and aspiring 'Squad' member Pramila Jayapal.

On January 6, 2017, Jayapal rose to object to the validity of the Electoral College vote certifying the election for Donald Trump. She was as Inslee described in his announcement, an elected official who was knowingly lying about an election.

"Mr. President, I object to the certificate from the state of Georgia on the grounds that the electoral votes did not…," before she was shut down by then-Vice President Joe Biden, who was presiding over the chamber.

She ignored him and began speaking again only to be shut down by Biden again who said, "It is over."

It remains unknown what would be in Inslee's legislation because he provided no specifics and has no sponsor for the bill.