title:  Inauguration Protesters Could Face Decades In Prison; This Is War Against The First Amendment
text: As liberals are fighting over a picture posted by a self-professed D-List comedian and Bill Maher uttering the  N  word, Republicans are waging a serious attack on the First Amendment by attempting to silence our constitutional right to protest.As you may recall, on January 20th, millions of people took to the streets to protest the inauguration of Donald Trump. In Washington, D.C., 230 protesters were arrested after anarchists clashed with the police.Anti-Trump chants were occasionally drowned out by the thuds of sound grenades and smoke bombs.Left behind was broken glass from the windows of cafes, restaurants and banks. Declarations of resistance marked the walls and pavements:  Make racists afraid again,  and  F*ck Trump .Images of a limousine in flames later made it onto television screens and the front pages of news websites around the world.Source: Al JazeeraThe D.C. courts decided to throw the book at the protesters. 230 protesters and bystanders were initially charged with felony rioting, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and a $25,000 fine.On April 27th, though, the Superior Court of D.C. doubled down and now 212 of those defendants are facing up to 80 years in prison. Some of the defendants are journalists, who face up to 70 years, each. This, despite the fact that a lot of them seemed to have been swept up in the confusion and they had no warning to disperse or that tear gas and rubber bullets were coming their way.For (protester Olivia) Alsip, the ever-present weight of the charges has already taken a toll on her life.  I m pretty shocked by the impact it s had on my personal life,  she explains. It seems that innocent until proven guilty is a falsehood   all the way from the prosecution and police to the people who had previously supported me in my activism. It s hanging over my head the entire time, which makes it really challenging. It hinders your ability to plan your life. The bigger issue, of course, is the fact that the First Amendment seems to be under attack from all angles. Donald Trump has been staging a war on the media. A man who body slammed a journalist was just elected to Congress. Some states are legalizing murdering protesters with your car.While some of the protesters in D.C. were undoubtedly involved in rioting, the penalties are draconian and it seems the courts have no interest in figuring out who the guilty parties really were. What this will accomplish for the right is fear. People will be reluctant to express their opinions because they could be thrown in prison, or in some states, run over by a car.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images. 