Controlled by the whims of a power-hungry president

On Jan. 6, 2021 hundreds of protestors and rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol building. During this event, they assaulted law enforcement officers with flag poles, hockey sticks and other makeshift weapons. They broke out windows, invaded congressional offices and even defecated inside the building. President Trump hailed them as heroes and patriots and pardoned over 1,500 participants in that event. Since the pardon, at least 36 of those that were pardoned have been arrested on separate charges. Referring to the huge protests currently occurring in Iran, President Trump warned that if the Iranian regime punished the protestors, then the United States would take action. Meanwhile, a United States citizen, exercising her right to protest in Minneapolis was shot and killed by a federal agent. Immediately, Kristi Noem, without an investigation, labeled this 37-year-old mother of three driving a minivan filled with stuffed toys, a domestic terrorist. Trump called this woman "horrible" and, before any investigation could begin, announced that she ran over the agent. The video shows otherwise. It appears the woman panicked and tried to drive away. She obviously turned to the right to try to escape the masked and armed agents. The agent was not harmed at all and actually shot into the side of the vehicle after he was out of danger. Now, the federal government has blocked local authorities from investigating this incident. This is a cover-up. If you truly have nothing to hide, why would you not welcome the help of local authorities. Trump has made it clear that the only people allowed to protest are the ones that further his own interests. The majority of ICE operations are focused on cities controlled by Democratic leaders, and the actions of ICE seem to be inviting confrontations. It's almost like the administration wants to provoke local citizens to create an excuse to exercise their dominance and use their weapons. In Trump's first presidential campaign he told us not to believe what we saw but to believe what he told us. Now he is putting that into practice. Masked heavily armed agents are killing and kidnapping our neighbors and we all go on with life like this is normal. Congress has completely abdicated their responsibility and actively avoid questions about Trumps's behavior. If we don't wake up soon, we will be living in a world completely controlled by the whims of a single power-hungry president who even stoops so low as to put his name on the memorial to the deceased John F. Kennedy. Jeff Honeycutt Kingsport