Remember Erin Brockovich? The Hollywood Left thought so much of her environmental activism back in 2000 that she was the subject of the hit movie that bears her name, in which she was played by Julia Roberts. Moviegoers thrilled to the dramatization of Erin’s heroic fight against the faceless corporate greedheads of the California utility company Pacific Gas and Electric, which was contaminating the groundwater and lying to the locals about it. But in a telling indication of how quickly the Left has degenerated into a force for authoritarianism and totalitarianism, the once-celebrated Brockovich has now been classified as nothing less than a terrorist threat for raising a fuss about the release of toxic chemicals in the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
The celebrity-tracking site We Got This Covered noted Friday that “The real Erin Brockovich is Erin Brockoviching all over Palestine, Ohio.” Radar Online stated that same day that Brockovich “spoke out about the mishandling of the toxic train derailment catastrophe during a town hall meeting in East Palestine, claiming it appears to be a ‘classic cover-up’ by government agencies after a disastrous event.” It added that “the Biden administration has also been criticized.”
Like all authoritarians and would-be authoritarians, the Biden regime and its friends and allies hate to be criticized. This is demonstrated anew by their reaction to the simple news that Brockovich was heading to East Palestine. Yahoo News reported Thursday that “Ohio law enforcement issued a report late last month warning that events planned in East Palestine by the environmental activist Erin Brockovich could prompt a terrorist threat from violent extremists.” This was not a purely local effort. The report of the Ohio Statewide Terrorism Analysis & Crime Center Terrorism Analysis Unit Situational Awareness (STACC TAU) was “distributed to law enforcement agencies by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).” And so it’s clear: when does a hero of the Left become a terrorist? When a Leftist regime is on the receiving end of its criticism.
The STACC TAU report “assesses that special interest extremist groups will continue to call for changes in governmental policy, which may lead to protests in/around East Palestine and/or at the Statehouse in Columbus.” It notes that “environmental activist Erin BrockovichUSPER [United States person] is scheduled to be in East Palestine to explain residents’ legal rights. Brokovich has urged the community to use common sense and ask questions. Brockovich is also placing blame solely on Norfolk Southern. The STACC TAU assess this event could potentially increase tensions within the community.” That is a reasonable enough assessment, but the report doesn’t stop there.
At this point the report begins to suggest that Brockovich’s appearance in East Palestine could lead to terrorism. “According to the FBI,” the STACC TAU report continues, “special interest terrorism differs from traditional right-wing and left-wing terrorism in that extremist special interest groups seek to resolve specific issues, rather than effect widespread political change. Such extremists conduct acts of politically motivated violence to force segments of society, including the general public, to change attitudes about issues considered important to the extremists’ cause.”
Former FBI agent Mike German explained why all this was dangerous nonsense: “Obviously, there is no reason to have included Erin Brockovich’s name or a description of her advocacy in a law enforcement intelligence report, much less a ‘situational awareness’ report by a state fusion center’s terrorism analysis unit. Almost all of the activity described in this report is rightly protected by the First Amendment and poses no threat of harm, and therefore should be of no interest to terrorism intelligence units.” Indeed. But when has the Biden regime ever demonstrated even the most basic concern for the First Amendment rights of those who oppose it, or even of those who dare to criticize it?
Related: The Man Who Smeared Half the Country as ‘Domestic Terrorists’ Says He Wants ‘Unity’ at Christmas
Confronted about this outrageous report, the Ohio Department of Public Safety began backtracking furiously: “Erin Brokovich [sic] is listed as an ‘environmental activist’ and the brief mention of her falls under the heading of ‘various individuals or groups have responded to the train derailment. The fact that she is an ‘environmental activist’ that has ‘responded to the train derailment’ is factual and has been well documented by media accounts. Any inference otherwise is incorrect.” Yeah, and it’s just coincidence that the report brings her up while discussing possible terrorist activity related to protests over the way the administration has reacted to the derailment and the poisoning of the citizenry.
Suggesting that Erin Brockovich is a terrorist threat is just the latest indication of the Biden regime’s determination to criminalize legitimate and peaceful opposition. The most glaring indication of this came from Old Joe himself when he said that “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.” There will be many, many more.
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