CNN Journalist’s Arrest Is Another Step on the Path to Authoritarianism

Omar Jimenez’s Detention Was State-Sponsored Harassment

CNN reporter Omar Jimenez after his release (YouTube screen capture)

I know state-sponsored harassment when I see it. It happens when an officer of the state uses his authority to make your life difficult. But since you’re not breaking any laws, he eventually lets you go. However, the officer’s brief show of power has disrupted your day.

I’ve had many examples of this happen in my life. My first living memory of this happened when I was traveling with my family as part of a school-sponsored trip from England to France in the early ’80s.

My parents were British permanent residents, but immigration officers decided to pull over the tour bus and detain us in the early hours of the morning. I still remember the embarrassment of having the rest of the passengers stare at us as we kept them waiting. Of course, they let us go because they couldn’t find any laws that were broken.

Black drivers, especially one’s with luxury cars, regularly receive similar treatment. When…