President Joe Biden has finally spoken up about the anti-Israel protests on college campuses across the nation. After ten days of silence, the commander-in-chief said the US is not a “lawless county” and that “order must prevail.”
“We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent,” the president said during a three-minute address from the Roosevelt Room after heavy criticism for his silence on the unrest thus far. “The American people are heard. In fact, peaceful protest is the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues. But, but – neither are we a lawless country. We are a civil society, and order must prevail.”
“Let me be clear,” the president continued, “Violent protest is not protected, peaceful protest is. It is against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not peaceful protest, it’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancelation of classes and graduations, none of this is a peaceful protest. Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest, it is against the law.”
Biden urged protesters not to let their dissent turn into disorder or deny the rights of others, saying, “There is a right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos.”
