8 Ways the Constitution was Violated in Idaho in 2020
A Citizen’s Plea to the Idaho State Legislature
by Diego Rodriguez
The above video is an Idaho Citizen’s Plea to the Idaho State Legislators before they begin their legislative session on January 11th, 2021. This short, 9 minute long video outlines 8 very specific ways the rights of the people have been violated by the Idaho State Government.
Transcript of the Video:
On January 11th, you will convene in a brand new legislative session and I am praying to God Almighty for you and your responsibility as a legislator. As representatives of Idaho’s citizens, you have taken an oath to defend the United States Constitution, and I am pleading with you to take your oath seriously and consider the following violations of the US Constitution that Idahoans have suffered this year:
1. Idahoans were arrested for having church. Church members in Moscow Idaho were arrested for gathering peacefully and singing Psalms without masks. This is not only ridiculous and disgusting, but it is a clear violation of the 1st amendment’s protection of both peaceful assembly and freedom of religion. Remember, there is no circumstance, REAL or IMAGINED, which can legally or morally upend the Constitution. It is the highest law of the land.
2. Governor Little’s Emergency Order further violates the 1st Amendment. Governor Brad Little’s emergency orders and lockdown measures which prohibit large gatherings of any sort, and which had the effect of shutting down churches all over Idaho, further violates the 1st Amendment’s protections again—on peaceful assemblies, and freedom of religion. The government can never create law, measures, or orders that prevent people from worshipping God.
3. Arrested for Sitting in the Press Box. An independent journalist was arrested for sitting in a press area during the Idaho Special Legislative Session. 3 other innocent citizens were arrested just for being present in a public building, in a public room, during public hours, although they weren’t bothering anyone, threatening anyone, or breaking any laws. This is deplorable and it is a further violation of the 1st Amendment’s right to assemble and of Freedom of the Press. No amount of spin can change what happened those days nor what the video record demonstrates to be the truth.
4. Arrested for Protesting in front of the homes of board members. 3 warrants were issued and at least 1 arrest was made when innocent, non-violent protesters, joined with each other in the spirit of our founding fathers and protested in front of the homes of board members who were voting to further violate their rights. You might not like that they were doing this, and you might disagree with it’s permissibility, but as long as it’s peaceful, and it endangers no one, it is 100% constitutional and protected by the highest law of the land. Furthermore to claim that these warrants and arrests were issued for disturbing the peace is not only disingenous, but it is illegal and that has already been established as precedent through multiple court cases in America. These protesters had their Constitutional rights violated—plain and simple.
5. Contact Tracing Violates the 4th Amendment. Governor Brad Little, under the guise of the pandemic has also instituted Contact Tracing with the intent of collecting private information about Idaho citizen’s geolaction, personal interactions, and additional private information, all without permission or need for consent. This is a direct violation of the 4th Amendment’s protections against unreasonable search and seizures and warrantless invasion of privacy.
6. Infringement Upon Our Right to Travel. The 5th Amendment of the Constitution expressly states that no person shall be deprived of “liberty…without due process of law.” And case law has established that this means that Americans have the right to travel without being impeded by the government. However, Governor Brad Little’s order as published states, “All non-essential travel must cease.” This is another unconstitutional order that is not only criminal, but has caused the utter destruction of the travel industry within Idaho.
7. Jury Trials Have Been Eliminated. On December 14th, 2020, the Idaho Supreme Court made an unconstitutional order canceling all jury trials, criminal or civil, indefinitely. The order states that it will be reconsidered no later than March 1, 2021. This is a clear violation of both the 6th and 7th amendments which plainly state that “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial” and that “the right of trial by jury shall be preserved.” The Idaho Supreme Court has broken the law, period.
8. Essential and Non-Essential Classifications Violate the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment protects the equal rights of all citizens. It prevents the government from classifying one group of people from another group of people in a way that gives privileges to some while preventing others from the same. Governor Brad Little’s order does that very thing. It defines certain businesses as “essential” while others are “non-essential.” This effectively gives certain businesses the privilege of staying open while others must shut down and it has literally destroyed the lives, hopes, and dreams of tens of thousands of Idahoans. Many have had their financial lives completely decimated. Record levels of Idahoans have killed themselves as a result. The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment clearly states: “nor shall any State…deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”. Permitting some businesses to remain open while others must close, or merely defining some businesses as “essential” while others are “non-essential” is a clear violation of the equal protection clause in the 14th Amendment.
I have outlined 8 clear violations of the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 14th Amendments of the US Constitution, the highest law of the land, by the Idaho State Government. This is the same Constitution which you have given a solemn oath to defend and protect.
And I haven’t even begun to talk about the violations of the Idaho State Constitution, or state law, or how emergency orders cannot last indefinitely, or how the Governor’s orders have given illegal power to unelected boards to legislate—which is a clear violation of separation of powers—because the Governor in the executive branch doesn’t have the power to give unelected boards legislative power any more than you in the legislative brand have power to create unelected boards who have judicial or executive power, right? That should be obvious. But that is going on here in Idaho.
The point is simple—the people’s rights have been violated. The Constitution has been violated. And our Governor, our Idaho Supreme Court, and other various government officials have been the violators, the offenders, and the attackers of the very Constitution that you swore an oath to defend.
For months, the law-abiding citizens of Idaho have been asking their legislators, like peasants begging for reprieval from their oppression, to please put an end to these Constitutional violations. And for months, the Idaho legislature as a whole has responded by collectively saying, “We will take care of it in the next legislative session.”
Well here we are. The next legislative session is about to begin. If you do not as the members of the Idaho Legislature and the rulers of the legislative branch remove and eliminate these clear violations of Constitutional law, then I call on you to answer for the oath you made to the Constitution.
Or at least answer me, how have I and the citizens of Idaho misinterpreted the Constitution? Does the Constitution not give me the freedom to worship God without a government mandated mask? Am I not free to peacefully assemble without government permission? Am I not free to travel? Am I not free to gather with more than 10 people? Am I not allowed to have a jury trial even though the Constitution guarantees it? Is it okay to shut one business down while allowing another to stay open? Please tell me where I am wrong about these Constitutional violations.
And if Government itself can break all manner of laws, including the HIGHEST LAW OF THE LAND, repeatedly, and without consequence, then explain to me how we have a country of law and order? When the government can break the law without consequence, then we do not have a Republic, but an oligarchy—where a small group of elites have all power and control.
My friend, I am not your enemy. I desperately want you to succeed. I, along with hundreds of thousands of Idahoans—your constituents—want you to succeed. We want you to do the right thing. We want you to preserve our rights.
Because the purpose of government is not to protect our health, as it currently claims to be doing in the name of the COVID crisis and pandemic, but rather, it is the purpose and role of Government to protect our rights—and to that end, we are praying for you, and supporting you, and hoping to God Almighty that you will be successful in preserving and protecting our rights—particularly our Constitutional rights which you swore an oath, before God, to uphold. Thank you.
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