Plan B Forum

US Senate unanimously passes resolution affirming the press ‘is not the enemy of the people’

The US Senate on Thursday passed a resolution by unanimous consent affirming that the media “is not the enemy of the people.”

The move comes amid an initiative led by the Boston Globe editorial board in which more than 350 news organizations published editorials promoting the freedom of the press. The editorials were published in response to President Trump’s repeated verbal attacks on journalists, in which he has called mainstream press organizations “fake news” and “the enemy of the American people.”

The editorial push caused #FreePress to trend on Twitter, and elicited an angry response from Trump.

Lord Jim wrote:How sorry a pass have we come to where such a vote is even necessary.

Resolved, That—
(1) the Senate—
(A) affirms that the press is not the enemy 4 of the people;
(B) reaffirms the vital and indispensable role that the free press serves to inform the electorate, uncover the truth, act as a check on the inherent power of the government, further national discourse and debate, and otherwise advance the most basic and cherished democratic norms and freedoms of the United 3 States; and
(C) condemns the attacks on the institution of the free press and views efforts to systematically undermine the credibility of the press as an attack on the democratic institutions of the United States; and
(2) it is the sense of the Senate that it is the sworn responsibility of all who serve the United States by taking the oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States to uphold, cherish, and protect the entire Constitution, including the freedom of the press.

• "Never pick a fight with a man who buys ink by the barrel."
  — Mark Twain

Boston Globe steps up security due to threats in wake of Trump tweet

BOSTON (WHDH) - There is an increased police presence at The Boston Globe’s headquarters after threats were made against the newspaper Thursday in wake of a tweet that was sent out by President Trump, officials said.

While Boston police say they do not believe the threats were “super serious,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting an investigation.

In a campaign spearheaded by the Globe, newspapers across the United States have opted to push back against Trump’s attacks on “fake news” with a coordinated series of editorials speaking up for a free and vigorous press. An estimated 350 newspapers participated.

Trump responded to the campaign Thursday morning, singling out the Globe on Twitter.

A resolution offered later in the day by Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz, of Hawaii, drew on the words of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and President Ronald Reagan, among others, to champion the role of the free press, which it said is “integral to the democratic foundations of the United States.”

By James Pindell Globe Staff
August 14, 2018
Note to Alan Dershowitz: The aversion to Donald Trump goes well beyond Martha’s Vineyard.

Massachusetts ranks first in the nation for its dislike of the president’s job performance, a poll released Tuesday found.

Man charged with making threats to Boston Globe, calling paper 'enemy of the people'

A California man was arrested and charged Thursday with making violent threats to Boston Globe employees, calling the newspaper the "enemy of the people," the U.S. Attorney’s office for Massachusetts said.

Robert D. Chain, 68, of Encino, California, was charged with one count of making threatening communications in interstate commerce, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles Thursday and be transferred to Boston at a future time.

Court documents say Chain made about 14 threatening calls between Aug. 10-22, in reaction to the Globe’s efforts to organize a coordinated response from newspapers across the country to President Trump’s repeated attacks on the media.

In those calls, Chain allegedly referred to the Globe as “the enemy of the people’’ and threatened to kill its employees. Trump has often used that phrase in lambasting the news media.

According to the criminal complaint, the caller said, "As long as you keep attacking the President, the duly elected President of the United States, in the continuation of your treasonous and seditious acts, I will continue to threats, harass, and annoy the Boston Globe, owned by the New York Times, the other fake news."

The Globe said more than 400 news outlets joined the coordinated campaign, including the New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Chicago Sun-Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post, writing editorials in support of freedom of the press and decrying Trump’s references to the press as “fake news.’’

The day the mass editorials published on Aug. 16, authorities say Chain called the Globe’s newsroom and threatened to shoot its employees in the head “later today, at 4 o’clock.’’ Boston police responded by stationing personnel outside the Globe’s offices.

“Everyone has a right to express their opinion, but threatening to kill people takes it over the line and will not be tolerated,” Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, said in a statement. “Today’s arrest of Robert Chain should serve a warning to others, that making threats is not a prank, it’s a federal crime.’’