Cop Out: Will Coronavirus Hysteria Open Door to Full-Blown Martial Law in America? – Astute News

In Philadelphia, for example, the Police Department has been instructed its offices to temporarily stop making arrests for certain nonviolent crimes – including drug offenses, burglary, economic theft and vandalism – until next month amid the coronavirus outbreak. According to the memo, obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer, arresting officers would detain the offender, process the paperwork, and then release the offender back into the general population. The announcement came 24 hours after Philadelphia courts closed until April 1 to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, across the country in Fort Worth, Texas, the police will cease arresting people for “low-level crimes” – Class C misdemeanors such as thefts involving less than $100 and vandalism – if a citation can be issued in its place, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

Now let’s be clear. One hundred dollars may seem like chump’s change to the powers-that-be, but for people struggling on the front lines against not only a deadly virus, but unemployment as well, that type of money can mean the difference between eating and going hungry. And if criminals know they will only be slapped with an order to appear in court there is little to deter crimes from happening.

None of this bodes well for the future of Main Street, USA, which on the one hand faces the loss of basic police protection, and on the other full-blown, boots on the road martial law. America is now at a crossroads with regards to how it addresses the coronavirus pandemic, and although the majority of Americans will probably never get sick from the disease, they may very well lose a large chuck of their civil liberties in the coming fallout.

via Cop Out: Will Coronavirus Hysteria Open Door to Full-Blown Martial Law in America? – Astute News