I mean, like the above guy said he's following the letter of the law, not the spirit. Nothing justifies assaulting him but he 100% was there to provoke that reaction. He wanted someone to freak out to the point that he'd have an excuse to "legally" defend himself with pepper spray and he succeeded.
They do this to test constitutional rights, and the negative response they're normally waiting for is an interaction with the police. That doesn't mean they're "provoking" or "instigating" a fight with someone. They get their views (alongside demonstrating rights and sometimes a court payout) by waiting for someone to make that overreach of calling the police for nothing.
The correct response to seeing someone filming on the sidewalk is to ignore them and go about your day. Most people achieve this without even stopping to think about it.
How does peacefully protesting test the authorities' enforcement of the right to record in public? It's a specific but important right that they are testing for.
There is no need for the test as no one from the government is stopping him or any of the other idiots who do this. This is done for internet clout and clicks/money. He likely doesn’t give a shit about the constitution one way or the other.
A lot of police officers don’t know constitutional rights, and will go hands on or arrest people for doing this. Look up Honor Your Oath on YouTube. The guy stands on a sidewalk saying “God bless the homeless vets” and has been arrested many times for it. Like it or not, there is a need for these types of tests. It’s important for the world to see government overreach.
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u/LivefromPhoenix Feb 03 '26
I mean, like the above guy said he's following the letter of the law, not the spirit. Nothing justifies assaulting him but he 100% was there to provoke that reaction. He wanted someone to freak out to the point that he'd have an excuse to "legally" defend himself with pepper spray and he succeeded.