No Kings—and no double standards

Brett Freeman

If you only oppose kings when the other side is in power, you don’t oppose tyranny—you just want a turn on the throne”

This past weekend, thousands of people took to the streets in places like Brewster, Mount Kisco and Purdys as part of the nationwide "No Kings" rallies.

They marched with American flags, sang “This Land Is Your Land,” and held signs that read “Make America Think Again," and “The Power of the People Will Always Be Stronger Than the People in Power.” Their message was simple: Americans should never bow to a king. We are a free people, and no president— of any party — should ever claim unchecked power over us.

Before I go any further, let me say this: I genuinely understand the No Kings message. As a conservative with a strong libertarian streak, I believe government power should always be viewed with suspicion and kept on a short leash. The founders warned us about exactly this—liberty dies when authority stops answering to the people. That’s why I’ve always been drawn to those “First Amendment audit” videos, those odd little encounters where a person with a camera walks into a government building and calmly tests how officials react to being filmed.

When citizens film their local governments, they’re demanding openness—a reminder that power should always be visible and accountable. The same principle should apply at every level of government. That’s why I am alarmed to see ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents wearing black masks during operations.

Despite my concerns about ICE’s tactics, I disagree with those on the left who excused the near-open border policy during the previous administration and the lawbreaking of illegal immigrants who cut in front of the line. But civil libertarians on the right need to speak up when the Trump Administration conducts itself in a way that doesn’t pass the smell test. We are not supposed to live in a country where government agents hide their identities from the citizens they serve. That’s something you’d expect from regimes we criticize, not from America.

But there’s another side to the story. ICE agents have faced serious threats because activists have doxxed them—publishing their names, home addresses, photos, and even details about spouses and kids. That’s not accountability. That’s mob justice in digital form.

Doxxing has become the modern equivalent of the angry crowd with torches, except now the mob hides behind screens. It’s an ugly, cowardly tactic that endangers families and chills public service. The danger isn’t hypothetical—last month, a gunman opened fire on an ICE field office in Dallas, shooting three detainees. Two later died. Authorities say the attacker intended to terrorize ICE agents, though no personnel were injured. There ought to be severe federal penalties for anyone who intentionally releases private information about government employees performing lawful duties. We can protect government transparency and protect the safety of those who serve within it. Those values aren’t mutually exclusive.

So yes, all Americans who care about civil liberties should oppose the policy that allows government agents to hide their faces. But anyone who cares about this issue loses credibility when they excuse, downplay, or even gaslight Americans by pretending there isn’t an Antifa movement also wearing masks and hiding its actions. We’ve all seen the footage from Portland, Seattle and Minneapolis—masked protesters smashing windows, setting fires, and attacking police officers and journalists. You can’t demand transparency from government while tolerating anonymity for violent agitators. Accountability can’t be one-sided; if openness is the standard, it must apply to everyone.

And that brings me back to the No Kings protests. People were right to march against authoritarianism. But where were these defenders of democracy during the previous administration’s pressure campaign on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to silence political speech? Internal records and congressional testimony have confirmed that federal officials worked behind the scenes to suppress posts, throttle viewpoints, and blacklist dissent—sometimes at the direct request of government actors. If you oppose tyranny only when the other side is in power, that isn’t a defense of freedom. That’s selective outrage.

And while we’re talking about threats to democracy, let’s be honest about another uncomfortable truth: the Democratic Party hasn’t exactly modeled democratic behavior itself. There wasn’t even an open primary this year before Vice President Kamala Harris was ushered in as the nominee. No debates. No competition. No vote by the people. Just a quiet handoff behind closed doors. And this isn’t new—ask Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has been sandbagged more than once by his own party’s establishment. Yet many of the same voices chanting “No Kings” had no problem when party bosses made decisions the voters were never allowed to make. If that’s not centralized, unaccountable power, what is?

Both sides, frankly, are guilty. Conservatives forgive what they’d condemn if a Democrat were in charge. Liberals defend actions they’d march against if it were conservative groups getting violent in the streets. We hear endlessly about a single day—Jan. 6, 2021—but the same outrage vanishes when the chaos and violence comes from the left. My moral test is simple: Would I support this if the roles were reversed? If I wouldn’t want a Democratic administration sending masked agents into neighborhoods, I can’t excuse it when a Republican one does.

And yes—concern about government overreach is warranted. Look no further than the Pentagon’s new media policy: reporters were told to accept rules that allow the department to yank credentials if journalists seek “unauthorized” information. Many outlets rightfully refused and vacated their Pentagon spaces. That’s government censorship dressed up as security, and it undermines public trust.

Consider also the case of conservative journalist James O’Keefe. In 2021, the FBI raided his Mamaroneck apartment as part of the Ashley Biden diary probe, seizing phones and materials. Many of those crying “lawfare” today were silent when this happened. O’Keefe wasn’t charged, but the raid swept up journalistic files and triggered broad press-freedom alarm. Even the ACLU, a liberal organization, defended O’Keefe and believed the FBI violated his rights. That should trouble anyone who cares about a free press.

So here’s my modest proposal: no more double standards. If you’re acting in public, stand by your actions publicly. And if you’re tempted to defend something because it helps your team, ask yourself how you’d feel if the same power were turned against you.

We need a national reckoning on civil liberties—one that applies the same rules to both sides. No more pretending Antifa doesn’t exist. No more pretending federal overreach is fine when it targets your political enemies. We can’t defend freedom halfway.

If you only oppose kings when the other side is in power, you don’t oppose tyranny—you just want a turn on the throne.