VICTOR JOECKS: Biden’s incitement is more equal than Trump’s

Under the standard Democrats set for Donald Trump, President Joe Biden should be impeached for incitement.

Since the leak of the draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, protesters have targeted conservative Supreme Court justices by marching on their homes. Over the weekend, demonstrators screamed and chanted just outside their front doors.

That’s not just bad manners. It’s illegal. Federal law bans picketing or parading near a judge’s residence “with the intent of influencing” him or her.

The Biden administration, however, applauded the protesters.

“So, I know that there’s an outrage right now, I guess, about protests that have been peaceful to date, and we certainly continue to encourage that outside of judges homes,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “And that’s the president’s position.”

It shouldn’t be hard to see the parallels between the Biden administration’s rhetoric and what Democrats impeached Trump for in January 2020.

Trump “willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged — and foreseeably resulted in — lawless action at the Capitol,” the impeachment resolution states. It continues, “Thus incited by President Trump, members of the crowd he had addressed” attempted to “interfere with the Joint Session’s solemn constitutional duty.”

That incitement claim was always a stretch, so don’t expect congressional Democrats to apply it here. Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he, too, was comfortable with peaceful protests outside justices’ homes. That’s not as bad as what he said in 2020.

“I want to tell you, (Justice Neil) Gorsuch. I want to tell you, (Justice Brett) Kavanaugh,” Schumer said at a pro-abortion rally protesting a different case. “You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”

Fortunately, Supreme Court justices haven’t been physically attacked, unlike the police injured during the violence at the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But Biden is actively encouraging people to break federal law in order to interfere with the operation of a coequal branch of government. His administration is supposed to be enforcing that law.

Around the country, violence against pro-life groups is already happening, too. On Sunday, someone threw a Molotov cocktail inside a pro-life organization’s building. Graffiti on the outside of the building read, “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either.”

A group claiming responsibility, per journalist Robert Evans, wrote in a statement, “This was only a warning. Next time the infrastructure of the enslavers will not survive.”

Lovely folks. Perhaps the FBI can take a break from investigating parents who attended school board meetings to find out who’s attacking pro-life groups.

Don’t expect Biden and Democrats to acknowledge this double standard on incitement. But it’d be nice if they at least stopped encouraging people to break the law in pursuit of their political goals.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.