Our freedom is at stake: George Floyd's murder exposes a crisis of civil liberties

Ruthless police behavior during these riots is symptomatic of the broader issue. Across the nation, they have actively encouraged peaceful protestors to turn to violence by firing rubber bullets, unleashing tear gas, and threatening the unarmed with physical altercations. This is a deliberate effort to undermine the calls of the protestors for an end to institutional racism.

The live-on-air arrest of Minneapolis' CNN crew typifies this shocking issue. The US Press Freedom Tracker estimates that in the days since the attack, there have already been at least 100 press freedom violations. Free and fair media reporting is crucial for functioning democracy. Without it, the US risks falling into a despotic regime. Proponents include Tom Jones of Poynter and the CPJ.

As far-right extremists the Big Igloo Bois wrote on their Facebook page to rally a citizen’s militia to the riots: “This is not a race issue. For far too long we have allowed them to murder us in our homes, and in the streets.” The group were referring to the police and law enforcement, pointing to the violent subjugation of citizens by state.

The scale of violence and looting in the wake of George Floyd's murder distracts from the main issue. As small businesses are ravaged and livelihoods are destroyed, the narrative of social justice is being hijacked. This is increasingly dangerous as opposition groups paint rioters as thugs and in doing so, legitimise violence against them. If the issue at hand is institutional racism and the gruesome treatment of blacks in US society - rioting is detrimental to the cause. Proponents of this group include Quartz reporter Annalisa Merelli.

US law privileges police. "Qualified immunity" means that they are largely protected even when their actions lead to avoidable or unnecessary deaths. The group argues that without this safeguard, police would no longer be able to unleash the brutality that has fuelled the current crisis. Therefore, abolishing this law is the necessary condition for change. Proponents include the conservative Michigan Representative Justin Amash and VP for Criminal Justice at the Cato Institute Clark Neily.

George Floyd has become a powerful symbol for the racial injustice faced by non-whites in the US and beyond. Protestors are now railing against decades of deprivation faced by minority communities and propped up by the machinery of the state. In the US, blacks are significantly more likely to be imprisoned, murdered by police and arrested for minor crimes.

The state has failed to protect our most fundamental freedom: the right to life. This crisis has unfolded as a last resort, after decades in which the right to life can no longer be guaranteed by the law. In fact, it is often those meant to uphold it that who threaten it most. Proponents include the New York Times Editorial board.

President Trump's intentions to label Antifa an official terrorist group is a dangerous move towards a heavy-handed surveillance state. The group has neither leadership nor ideology, and organises itself informally. To outlaw, it would effectively sanction arbitrary policing.

The problem with the police and military shutdowns of these protests is a constitutional one. It is a direct violation of the ensured right to free speech. The fact that these orders are coming from the President illustrates a dangerous shift towards a nation deprived of its fundamental rights. Once the right to protest has been taken away, our civil liberties hang by a thread; and so does what it means to be an American.