Assault on fellow citizens, by what right?

July 14, 2014

OPINION By AARON ARMSTRONG

Are you offended by the truth? Some of us are and choose to exercise our First Amendment constitutional rights in response.

Unfortunately, another type of offense just took place in Atascadero on July 7 by another person who appears to be offended by the truth. Her response however, was quite different than ours.

The offense, a criminal act, in violation of Penal Code 242: battery, took place on Curbaril Avenue overpass at Highway 101 when a middle aged woman, obviously offended by what we consider the truth written on our signs, drove past our constitutionally protected peaceful assembly on the sidewalk, and sprayed my partner and I with suspected pepper spray. She chose to violate the law, was apprehended by the Atascadero Police Department and was cited for the violation.

CalCoastNews covered the story, contacting the offender who stated she was defending President Barack Obama from an unwarranted attack. It is interesting how the other political side of things interprets defending and attacking.

Our presence on Curbaril Avenue does not in any way present a viable threat to the president, unless of course you consider what we have written on our signs, things like: “Benghazi Matters,”  “Truth is not Hate Speech,” “Secure the Border,” “Stop Obamacare,” “Obamacare = Fraud,” “America is a Free Speech Zone,” and “Wake Up.” Quite the contrary to the real threat we believe this president represents when he willingly and knowingly violates current U.S. law.

His violations include a disregard for current immigration law, which in large part is responsible for the current crises overwhelming our southern border, the unilateral release of five high level Taliban GITMO detainees without notification to Congress, the use of numerous federal agencies like the EPA, the IRS, HHS (the Affordable Care Act), and the DOJ to inflict real injury to honest hard working Americans, his cover-up regarding the facts relative to before, during, and after the Sept 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Lybia where Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other brave Americans were murdered, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s death in Dec. 2010 by a weapon tied to the failed “Fast and Furious” gun running scheme orchestrated by the Obama administration and a myriad of other, as the president says, “phony scandals”.

We were attacked because of what we believe, and that is against the law. There are real threats to America’s safety and our national security, but our flags and signs are not. In fact, what we do is Constitutional and within the confines of current law.

We choose to fly our flags and hold our signs peacefully in opposition to what we consider dishonest and unlawful behavior by our federal government. We choose to defend liberty, our nation and our fellow citizens lawfully in this manner. Our choice to stand up for the U.S. Constitution and the laws of our nation is not without risk or reward and we realize not everyone agrees with us. Our peaceful assemblies, however, only threaten to expose the dishonesty and the lawlessness that President Obama chooses to engage in.

Why this woman perceives our presence as threatening to the president and in her view warrants her immediate physical assault on us is quite disturbing. Thankfully we are still a nation of laws.

In closing, I want to thank the Atascadero Police Department for their quick response, professionalism and their ability to apprehend the offender within a very short period of time and within the confines of the law. Thank you.

Aaron Armstrong is a member of Patriot Partners on the Central Coast, a non-affiliated group of people who love their country and are concerned about the behavior of the federal government and the future of the nation. The group meets on Tuesdays from 4 -6 p.m. at the Santa Rosa Street overpass in San Luis Obispo and on the first Monday of the month from 3 -5 p.m. on the Curbaril Avenue overpass in Atascadero. Armstrong can be reached at (805) 459-6743.