Trump silences environmental agency, Republicans propose bills to curb protesting

Donald Trump has banned employees of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from speaking with reporters and from giving social media updates, the Associated Press reports.

The EPA is headed by Rick Perry, the former Texas governor whoSalon reports is closely connected to the Texas oil industry, including corporate roles in two petroleum companies pushing to build the 1,200-mile crude oil pipeline in North Dakota that has launched fierce backlash. Trump also has ties to a company building the pipeline. Yesterday the piple wasapproved.This approval officially reversedObama's position, and overturnedwhat environmentalists considered to be a triumph after months-long protests, where demonstratorswere soaked by officials with hosesduringcold winter weather,attacked by dogs and shot at with rubber bullets.

Before he was tasked with leading it, Perrypublicly called for the EPA to be abolished. Trump's pickfor the director of the EPA, Scott Pruitt, has challenged EPA policy in court, The Hill reports.

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The ban against the EPA comes as other agency staff report being barredfrom communicating withthe general public and with members of Congress, The Hill reports.

This is only the latest chill felt by federal employees since October.

In the days soon after the 2016 US election, the Trump team reportedly sought the names of individual federal employees who worked on climate change projects, and in January House Republicans revived an obscure law called the Holman Rule, which allows the government to reduce the salary of federal employees to a crippling $1.

The EPA has also frozen grant programs, ProPublica reports.

There were other bans, too: BuzzFeed reportsthat the Department of Agriculture told its employees not to share information about research or Tweet under the agency's name, while the Department of Health and Human Services was also told not to speak to public officials, theHuffington Post reports.

Republicans work to curbpublic protests

Days after the pro-women, anti-TrumpWomen's March--where Americans in over 500 US citiestook partin what might be the largest ever demonstration in American history, and were joined by millions from around the world--Republicans have made several proposalstargeting protesters.

Whilepeaceful assemblyis protected bytheAmerican Constitution,theprotection is not absolute.Republicans appear to be trying to bend it as much as possible.

For example, in Minnesota--wherepolice shot and killed a 32-year-oldblack man, Philando Castile--Black Lives Matterprotesters setup encampments andtook to the highway toshutdown traffic, MPR News reports. In the days immediately following the police shootingdozens of protesters were arrested, though the charges were dropped;Police say it cost more than $1 million in officer overtime and some damages, according to the report.

Republican Nick Zerwas pushed for bills to make it easier for prosecutors to charge protesters for blocking highways, resulting in a gross misdemeanour charge carryingup to a year in jail. Another proposedchange wouldallowpolice departments to sue convicted protesters for the costs of demonstrating.

"At some point, the rule of law has to matter. I think it's time to show there is accountability," Zerwassaid. Theproposalscould be brought about with more Republican power in the Capitol this year.

If approved, protesters would have to pay out of their own pocket for protesting, so long as policeconvicted them ofprotesting. This would incentivise police to convict protesters, and the threat of jail or fines would likely discourage protesting in general.

Meanwhile in Chicago, the cityhaspaid$500 millionfor judgements and settlements related to police misconduct in the last ten years, ChicagoCBS reports. This money, paid to victims of police brutality or tofamily members of people killed by the police, would be funded by the public.

(WION)