June 5, 2023 --

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The New York Times reported, June 3, that U.S. Judge Amit P. Mehta sentenced two Jan. 6 protesters to prison terms of three years and three and a half years.

The judge, who recently sentenced Stewart Rhodes to a Jan 6 18-year prison term, was quoted, this time, as saying that sentences should not be harsh for harsh's sake.

LPR regards the shorter prison sentences as equally harsh because the judge somehow views what is, effectively, a petition for redress of grievances to be a form of terrorism.

The Times reported that the two people sentenced to prison for three and three-and-a half years had been encouraged by Rhodes to travel to the nation's capital from Florida "to dispute the election results." Although neither of the two individuals, David Moerschel and Joseph Hackett, engaged in violence, Judge Metha, according to The Times, "determined that each man's conduct on Jan. 6 amounted to an act of terrorism...."

Ergo -- Judge Mehta has canceled our First Amendment.