What we have are unidentified men dressing up in military uniforms, cosplaying soldiers in the streets.

They are not actual military. And that should frighten everyone.

A THREAD https://twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1287319466120904704

When you take federal police out of their regulated uniform and put them into military uniform, you do a few things.

First, you protect the federal agency sending the men to the streets--because no one knows who they are.

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Second, you harm the actual military--because folks see the uniform and assume it's American troops.

We have a government that's stolen the military uniform with the sole intention of frightening and terrorizing American people.

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And now that they have the uniform on--similar to how I feel dressing up as Black Widow for Halloween--you take on the character you're portraying.

Because law enforcement is entirely different from being a soldier.

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So, in the worst case scenario, what you have are cops playing soldier the way they think soldiers behave.

And this is the biggest problem.

Because soldiers are held to a much higher standard of conduct than civilian law enforcement.

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Some law enforcement officers know this--because they're veterans. In my experience, the best cops are veterans. They've seen actual violence. They've been trained for years on proper rules of engagement.

Civilian-only cops have not.

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A soldier must follow those rules of engagement or face a court martial.

A soldier must follow a strict chain of command or face a court martial.

And a court martial is not a civilian trial. It doesn't even follow the same system, because soldiers are subject to the UCMJ.

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Which means that if *actual* soldiers were in the streets of Portland or any other US city, they would follow rules of engagement and an entirely different structure of rules that holds them to a higher standard.

Counterfeit cosplay soldiers?

Nope. None of that.

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Counterfeit cosplay soldiers are easier to control. They don't follow the same code as the US military. They don't have the same honor. They won't face the same repercussions.

So they assault veterans in the streets + mothers defending their kiddos.

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This administration destroys our republic + cowers behind the camouflage of our military to do it.

All the while weakening the respect those who've earned the right to wear that uniform deserve.

Those who seek peace needn't blur the line between policing + military force.

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