Opinion articles provide independent perspectives on key community issues, separate from our newsroom reporting.

Letters to the Editor

Katherine Betancourt: Assault on free speech

Regarding the March 5 news article “Hundreds rally downtown to show support for Trump”: I have read several articles about the March 4 Trump rally in Raleigh and one thing concerned me.

I know rhetoric is high at these types of political activities, but when I read that Sen. Ron Rabin said that those who stand against Trump are guilty of insurgency, sedition and “high crime and misdemeanor” my blood ran cold.

Do we live in a democracy with the right to freely express our opinions, or has our government become an oligarchy that accuses dissenters of treason?

In the country I love we do not create false accusations of crime if someone objects to the policies and promises of our leaders.

Rabin should apologize for his accusations and publicly support our residents’ right to dissent.

Katherine Betancourt

Raleigh

This story was originally published March 11, 2017 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Katherine Betancourt: Assault on free speech."

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