'Police State' - a Film by Dinesh D'Souza and Dan Bongino - Opens This Week

Duke reporting for RedState 

Well, this film is going to be interesting, and as they say, the timing could not be more perfect.

Dinesh D'Souza, along with Dan Bongino, has a film called "Police State" that will, from the preview clip that you can watch right here, delve into the increased powers that the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies have flexed recently. 

Of course, by recently, I mean pretty much since January 20th, 2021, when Donald Trump left office.

You may recall that D'Souza's previous venture into filmmaking was in "2000 Mules," which was an interesting film that my colleague Jennifer Van Laar wrote about back in May of 2022 (Fact Checking the Fact Checkers: AP's Hit Piece on '2000 Mules' is Full of Holes). The controversy that film caused is still being debated today and has had a far-reaching impact on discussions of securing ballots and how they are delivered for next year's presidential election.

I have no reason to doubt that D'Souza's effort here will also cause the same questions to be asked about what is happening with our law enforcement officials. That he has partnered up with Dan Bongino on this means that there will be a bonafide person with experience in some of the most grueling law enforcement positions to add some knowledge and background regarding the issues with what is being done to American citizens today.

Believe me, there are tons of questions.

Just the other day here at RedState, I wrote about Ryan Kelley, who ran for nomination for Governor in Michigan on the GOP side back in 2022. He was at the J6 event and never entered the Capitol, nor was he coordinating with people to disrupt the proceedings, yet he got 60 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

From my post

This is one of those stories that I just don't know how the conclusion could be correct.

A former candidate for the Republican nomination to run for Michigan governor, Ryan Kelley, was sentenced Tuesday to 60 days in jail and fined $5,000 for his role in standing outside of the Capitol on January 6 and yet never entering the building. 

He never entered.

I was gobsmacked when I read about it here:

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced former Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley to 60 days in prison for his role in the violent Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia also sentenced Kelley to one year probation after his prison term and ordered him to pay a $5,000 fine. Kelley also is to pay $500 restitution toward the $2.9 million in damage done to the Capitol building during the riot.

When they say "for his role," remember that he was outside the Capitol the whole time.

Kelley, 42, of Allendale was initially charged in June 2022 with four misdemeanors but after a deal with prosecutors, pleaded guilty over the summer to one federal misdemeanor crime of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.

In a Washington, D.C. courtroom on Tuesday, Kelley stood in a tan suit and full beard and addressed the judge, saying he “owned” his "wrong" actions at the Capitol that day, and he apologized for them. 

However, Judge Cooper still gave him 60 days after saying this.

But Cooper in handing down the sentence said he had “some serious concerns” about whether Kelley was genuinely remorseful, pointing to his social media and other posts including one from December claiming that the Jan. 6 riot was an FBI setup.

“You misused your platform as a candidate to minimize and frankly lie about what happened,” Cooper said. “It is important for us to send a message.” 

Cooper said he took into consideration that Kelley had no prior criminal history, was not an organizer of the riot, never entered the Capitol building and that he engaged in no violence.

“You are certainly not the most culpable of the defendants I’ve seen,” said Cooper, noting he’s handled 70-80 Jan. 6 cases.

How about Michigan Barber Continues Getting Harassed by the State and Receives 9,000 Dollar Fine for Defying Whitmer Orders? This was the barber in Michigan who had the nerve to continue cutting hair in his one-person barber shop and had the full state of Michigan come down on him.

You can’t make this up.

Via The Detroit News…

An Owosso barber who gained national attention last spring when he defied Michigan’s COVID-19 stay-home orders was fined $9,000 Monday for various violations of the state’s licensing rules.

But barber Karl Manke plans to appeal the violations investigated and prosecuted after his decision last year to cut hair in defiance of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-home order. His lawyer said the fines are a “last gasp” effort by the state to punish Manke after repeated failures in other legal venues.

“This just demonstrates the pettiness and vindictiveness of the state in all of their actions against Karl over the last year,” said Dave Kallman, Manke’s lawyer.

The Michigan Board of Barber Examiners voted Monday to fine Manke for violations that included carrying a comb in his pocket, accumulating hair and neck guards on the floor at the barber shop, and participating in a May 20 hair cut protest on the Michigan Capitol steps in May.

Mankes’ attorney Dave Kallman was pretty incredulous about the fines and the amount. He, as most people who are watching this, knows this is not about safety but about trying to stick it to someone who had the audacity to tell the government to take a long walk off a short pier into one of Michigan’s beautiful Great Lakes. Karl did it nicely, though, so what is their problem?

Now, I'm not saying that these are examples that are in the film "Police State," but just giving you an idea that these stories are plentiful across America, and this is a subject that I'm glad this film is willing to tackle.

My colleague, Becky Noble, will be viewing the film Monday evening, and others here at RedState will be, too. I'm sure we'll be following up and giving our perceptions of how this film tackles this problem.

In the meantime, click on this LINK to find out how you can view "Police State" and watch the trailer. And if you're lucky enough to go to an official premier in Las Vegas this Friday with Dinesh D'Souza and Dan Bongino, do it and send me pictures.