SEATTLE—Washington Attorney General Nick Brown’s statement on reports of Somali-run home-based daycare providers being harassed alleging that “showing up on someone’s porch, threatening, or harassing them isn’t an investigation” is being met with stern criticism by U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Harmeet K. Dhillon.
Brown’s statement was posted on X approximately 4 hours after Washington independent investigative journalists Cam Higby and Jonathan Choe published their exposé on Tuesday, Dec. 30. Both Higby and Choe attended President Donald J Trump’s a roundtable at the White House on Oct. 8 to address what administration officials described as a growing epidemic of left-wing political violence.
In response to a Libs of TikTok post highlighting AG Brown’s statement encouraging “anyone experiencing threats or harassment to either contact local law enforcement or our [WA AG] office’s Hate Crimes & Bias Incident Hotline at 1-855-225-1010,” AAG Dhillon affirmed her office’s commitment to protecting a free press from “state officials” who “threaten” journalist.
“ANY state official who chills or threatens to chill a journalist’s 1A rights will have some ‘splainin to do,” AAG Dhillon wrote. “DOJ Civil Rights Division takes potential violations of 18 USC § 242 seriously! Govern yourselves accordingly!”
AG Brown then responded to Dhillon, stating that he hasn’t “threatened anyone, especially not journalists.” Brown, in a display of ironic sarcasm, included snapshots from various news headlines of President Donald J Trump allegedly threatening media and journalists.
Not sure how you square your newfound concern for journalists with working for Donald Trump.
We quite obviously haven’t threatened anyone, especially not journalists. But maybe you need to have a hard conversation with your bosses. https://t.co/P10llDUbOB pic.twitter.com/XjKhYLuC0u
“Not sure how you square your newfound concern for journalists with working for Donald Trump,” AG Brown wrote. “We quite obviously haven’t threatened anyone, especially not journalists. But maybe you need to have a hard conversation with your bosses.”
AAG Dhillon rebutted alleging the Brown is a “deep stater” threatened by a free press.
The term “deep state” generally refers to a supposed clandestine network or entrenched bureaucracy within a government that operates independently of elected officials, influencing policy and decisions behind the scenes to serve its own interests rather than those of the public.
18 U.S.C. § 242 is a federal criminal statute that makes it illegal for anyone acting under color of law (such as government officials or law enforcement) to willfully deprive a person of their constitutional rights, privileges, or immunities. The First Amendment explicitly safeguards freedom of the press.
Investigative journalists rely on public records and on-site interviews and observations. If state officials label these activities as “harassment” or direct people to hate crimes hotlines without justification, it could be interpreted by the courts as an attempt to stifle a free press. Courts have applied § 242 in civil rights cases involving suppression of a free press.
US Assistant AG Dhillon is warning Washington State AG Brown of legal action against him by alleging his actions or future actions may be interpreted by the DOJ as misusing his official power to deter reporting fraud in Washington state which could expose him and other elected officials to federal criminal scrutiny under this statute.
The penalty for a basic offense of journalists’ 1A rights is a fine up to $100,000 and/or federal imprisonment for up to one year. If bodily injury is involved, a fine up to $250,000 and/or federal imprisonment for up to 10 years. If death, attempted murder, or kidnapping of a journalist, a fine up to $250,000 and/or federal imprisonment for up to 10 years. Fines are higher for organizations found in violation of journalists’ 1A rights.
Author: Mario Lotmore
One Response
Decades long racket. There is no way any WA AG for the past 25yrs can claim ignorance when we have proven fraud via audits conducted by State of WA. Proven fraud. Proven threats to auditors & now whistleblowers. These were intentional acts of defrauding taxpayers. And it’s not just apparently Medicaid, but local school district monies (M&O) you think are going to K-12, but are being used for so called “after school care” going to minority run NGOs+McKinney-Vento Act (homeless youth) federal grant monies. Laundered under guise “at risk youth” going to various Dem run NGOs including one NGO under investigation by Center Square. And during which time these acts of fraud were occurring we had local editors covering up these crimes. Including falsifying stories claiming 100s of people signed a petition to get rid of an administrator blowing the whistle on corruption, when not one single person signed the petition. The reporter & editor were proven liars. They made up the story. It took the whistleblower to prove not one signature was ever created or filed. Yet this newspaper falsified a story to protect a Dem minority run NGO. It is way worse. Decades of corruption & coverup by WA state agencies including participation by local news+editors in the coverup. And now whistleblowers who dare speak out are being threatened. Civil Rights Div US Atty Harmeet Dhillon is warning ANY state official who chills or threatens to chill a journalist’s 1A rights will have some ‘splainin to do