Trump's second-term crackdown on dissent started with pro-Palestinian activists. It didn’t end there.
Jeremy Schulman at Mother Jones:
Two days after an ICE agent shot and killed Renée Good in Minneapolis, Rep. Roger Williams issued an ultimatum to the Trump administration’s critics in Minnesota and beyond.
“People need to quit demonstrating, quit yelling at law enforcement, challenging law enforcement, and begin to get civil,” the Texas Republican told NewsNation. “And until we do that, I guess we’re going to have it this way. And the people that are staying in their homes or doing the right thing need to be protected.”
That’s a pretty clear encapsulation of MAGA-world’s views on dissent these days. You aren’t supposed to protest. You aren’t supposed to “yell at” or “challenge” the militarized federal agents occupying your city. And anyone who wants to be “protected” should probably just stay “in their homes.” Williams isn’t some fringe backbencher; he’s a seven-term congressman who chairs the House Small Business Committee. He is announcing de facto government policy.
For nearly a year, President Donald Trump and his allies have been engaged in an escalating assault on the First Amendment. The administration has systematically targeted or threatened many of Trump’s most prominent critics: massive law firms, Jimmy Kimmel, even, at one point, Elon Musk. But it’s worth keeping in mind that some of the earliest victims of the president’s second-term war on speech were far less powerful.
Early last year, ICE began arresting and attempting to deport people with legal immigration status—such as Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk—who had engaged in pro-Palestinian activism or expressed pro-Palestinian views. The administration was explicit about the new policy. Troy Edgar, Trump’s deputy secretary of Homeland Security, made clear that the government was seeking to remove Khalil in large part because he’d chosen to “protest” against Israel. Asked about such cases, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that engaging in “anti-American, antisemitic, pro-Hamas protest will not be tolerated.”
It should have been obvious at the time that Trump allies were laying the groundwork for an even broader crackdown. “When it comes to protesters, we gotta make sure we treat all of them the same: Send them to jail,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in March, discussing Khalil’s arrest on Fox Business Network. “Free speech is great, but hateful, hate, free speech is not what we need in these universities.”
The Trump Regime wants people to stop protesting this satanic regime.
The answer to that is HELL NO! This regime should be protested.
Neither Roger nor his daughter Mary really know how to draw, but after Roger finds some old pictures Mary drew when she was younger, the two decide to do some doodling for an afternoon.
Continuing my series exploring the Antinomian Controversy. For those seeing this series for the first time: I’m taking a historical fiction approach to my Wittebro backstory fanfic for the The Owl House, and the Antinomian Controversy defines the first arc. This exercise is helping me cement my understanding of the events and people involved, without worrying too much about what the brothers think. I do occasionally insert how they fit into things and other thoughts like this, but it isn’t the focus.
FYI, things are going to get considerably more speculative from here on out. I don’t actually open the story until the aftermath of the hurricane, so anything before is more historic. This is where how I am choosing to portray things matters, so I’m assigning personalities and motivations that may not have actually been the case. These people aren’t Wikipedia articles in my fanfic, they are characters just as much as Caleb and Phillip are.
The Antinomian Controversy Part 3: RHODE ISLAND in a BLIZZARD + The 1636 Election
Find the intro (and general trigger warnings) here:
💬 0 🔁 0 ❤️ 0 · Introduction: So Why are You Writing the Antinomian Crisis into your Owl House fanfic anyway? · As I’ve mentioned before, I
Roger Williams pulls an epic “You can’t fire me, I quit”
There aren’t a lot of specifics regarding the controversy in the immediate months following Vane and Wilson’s arrival in Boston. There was, however, drama going on elsewhere in Massachusetts.
Roger Williams had gotten a default promotion to acting pastor in 1634 after the guy he was assisting died. He immediately started doing as he did, preaching that, as avowed non-conformists themselves, they couldn’t demand that of others, which of course ruffled some feathers.
John Cotton was among these. Again, they had beef. Prior to the hurricane (so prior to when I actually start the story), in March, and then July, Williams was summoned to appear before the General Court in order to answer for his “erroneous opinions.” It was demanded that Salem remove him from his position.
You wanna know what’s funny? Salem, THE Salem, the one with the witch trials, basically responded with “lol, no,” saying that the demand violated their independence. Eventually though, Salem caved when they were attempting to annex some land and the General Court refused to let them unless Williams was removed. Salem DOES become the place with the witch trials. To be fair to them, they did send a letter of protest, attempting to get the other towns in Massachusetts on their side, but, as that sort of thing was done as part of church services, the other ministers refused to read the letter. Eventually they caved.
In October, the same month Vane and Wilson arrived, Williams was tried and convicted for sedition and heresy. Given Cotton’s known beef, I am tempted to portray them as loosely connected, possibly fudging when the trial happens to be early November. I can rarely be completely sure whether the dates I see are Gregorian or Julian unless I find specific reference to both (i.e. the hurricane), so I feel no guilt fudging months by 10 days or so to make the narrative work.
But, the way I’m seeing it, Wilson arrives, starts questioning some of the things Cotton is teaching (and particularly “WTF is up with this uppity woman partitioner of yours”), and Cotton, with or without realizing, starts projecting his frustration outward to the guy with the more unique teachings, pushing to actual try him.
I’m not sure how much of this will be in-text, seeing as my primary perspective voice is a deeply traumatized 8-year-old who’s WAY more focused on not getting separated from his brother, but I will probably have him overhear random comments without context. It’s the sort of thing that hints to readers the coming conflict later.
Roger Williams was banished from the colony, although, due to the approaching winter and his purported “illness”, he was allowed to stay until spring, provided he stopped preaching.
Given everything we know of Roger Williams, it should come as no surprise that his response to the latter part of that order was “lol, no.”
Eventually, in January, he was placed under house arrest, the sheriff was sent to obtain him, presumably to try him again. Roger Williams was gone.
Turns out, the guy, a guy who had supposedly been too ill to travel in fall just a couple months prior, had slipped away 3 days prior during a fucking BLIZZARD. It was discovered that he had hiked 55 miles in the snow and was now being sheltered by Massasoit in the winter camp of the Wampanoag Confederacy (from the Thanksgiving stories, as a reminder).
Random trivia: Massasoit wasn’t his name. It was Ousamequin. Massasoit basically means “great sachem,” or “great chief,” but all the white people thought that was his name. Dude was a-okay letting the white people think that was his name though. I will have him show up on page when Vane’s taking him to dinner at some point. I’m probably going to portray him as a low-key troll.
In the spring, Williams purchased some land from Massasoit in order to start a new settlement with some companions. This settlement was short-lived, as the governor of Plymouth Colony sent a “friendly” letter letting him know that this new settlement WAS technically within their jurisdiction, and even though Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony were distinct entities, none of them wanted to antagonize Boston. Passive aggressive bureaucratic bullshit is nothing new.
Roger Williams and his crew crossed the river and negotiated an agreement with sachems Canonicus and Mianotomo of the Narragansett, exchanging goods for the land that would become the colony of Providence Plantations. This will eventually be part of the wider Rhode Island colony, but Aquindeck Island hasn’t actually entered into it yet. It will.
Freedom of conscience, or keeping government and church out of each others’ business, was one of their founding principles. Roger Williams envisioned it as a safe haven for people fed up with Puritans’ bullshit. This was not limited to Protestants. The wider Rhode Island colony would become a refuge for Catholics, Quakers, and Jewish people alike.
I conflate Providence and Rhode Island as far as Williams is concerned mostly because of the conceit of Phillip and Caleb both having their own “Good Witch Azura,” i.e. fantasies they get to live out in the Boiling Isles. While joking about a mythical land of tolerance where he can be a bit of a weirdo always applies, the island pun only works for Rhode Island. Anyway, Caleb picks up a tendency as he gets older to threaten to run away to Rhode Island in a blizzard whenever he’s frustrated with something. Phillip’s pretty sure it’s a joke, but because of their trauma-bonded codependent train wreck of a relationship, he’s always a bit on edge about the idea of that.
How Does Boston Fit into this?
Before I decided to make HENRY VANE (the younger) a major character, Caleb was going to just hear about this second hand and secretly think it’s the coolest thing ever.
With Vane though, and knowing of John Cotton’s beef with Williams, it’s easy.
I saw a bit about Vane having assisted Roger Williams in the founding of the colony, including purchase of the land, but it’s a bit uncertain how much and where. He definitely assisted in the charter paperwork after his return to England. For narrative purposes, I’m going to have him involved from the beginning.
John Cotton’s going to be low-key pissy about it the entire time. I’m picturing something like, in winter, Cotton complaining about Williams’ escape, and Vane’s response was “come on, he ran away in a BLIZZARD. That’s pretty cool.”
Caleb will find out from Vane and latch onto the story from there.
The decision to include Vane as a major focus is one I’m happy with, and not just because he’s my “get out of plot hole free” card. The dynamic between Anne and Caleb is interesting, but Anne is very much in a mentor/motherly role. I sometimes will refer to her as the Qui-gon to Caleb’s Obi-wan.
On the other hand, the dynamic between Vane and Caleb has developed into this weird kinship that crosses both age and class. They’re both easily excited weirdos at their core, ones who really don’t understand why such a big deal is made of the gender divide. Vane doesn’t see why Caleb’s class means only Vane himself should be allowed that enthusiasm.
Caleb is very much the picture of “troubling unchildlike behavior” in the sense that he is WAY too young to be concerned with some of the things he’s concerned with. Vane’s a better counter to that than anyone else, because his privilege means he actually knows what it is to be a kid. He’s able to connect with the kid still inside Caleb in a way that’s surprisingly wholesome.
Later Edit: So Vane’s dad had apparently gotten him a position with the English ambassador in Vienna in 1631, and some of Vane’s writings at the time were in cipher. You know what that means? FUCK YEAH Rebus tie-in.
This is all happening while Anne Hutchinson is shit-talking John Wilson in her weekly Bible Studies, saying he is preaching a “covenant of works,” and contradicting him when they discuss the sermons afterwards. The idea of free grace is quite popular, and with HENRY VANE (the younger) attending the meetings, giving it added legitimacy. Religious officials were starting to take notice.
The popularity of the movement would be proved in May. Important info about Massachusetts Bay Colony: Elected positions were annual terms. Vane would run for governor of the colony. I’m seeing it as the more “progressive” (if you can call it that) among the colonists encouraging him to run, as his status and natural charisma would give him a natural advantage.
HENRY VANE (the younger) would win the election. He was twenty-three. Vane took office on May 25, 1636. The next day, our final major player in the controversy arrived in Boston.
Major Player #7: John Wheelwright
I debated calling Reverend John Wheelwright a “major player” for this writeup, not because he isn’t, but, because I’m largely focused on goings-on in Boston since that’s where the brothers are. Roger Williams gets talked about a bunch, because Caleb hears about his shenanigans and becomes a fanboy, but Wheelwright is a bit tangential. I’m already juggling a bunch of characters.
He is important though. He’s John Cotton if John Cotton had a fucking spine.
The dynamic we have as far as official authority figures is John Winthrop versus Henry Vane on the political side, and, it appears, John Wilson versus John Cotton on the religious side. Except, John Cotton is conciliatory to a fault. John Wheelwright entering the scene provides a clear clerical opposition to John Wilson. With Wheelwright in play, it becomes clear that Cotton is the swing vote.
John Wheelwright was related to Anne Hutchinson by marriage, his wife being the brother of Anne’s husband William. He held many of the same ideas as John Cotton, but he was far more likely to call out other ministers for their legalism. While he was technically preaching within Boston, he was preaching to a community about 10 miles south of the Boston meetinghouse (churches in the early colonial days). It wouldn’t take long though before John Winthrop, the magistrate, would be alerted that Wheelwright was preaching unorthodox doctrines, which, in combination with Anne Hutchinson’s growing popularity, meant that this movement could no longer be ignored.
A slight aside to more thoroughly discuss grace vs. works
For those of you who didn’t grow up Evangelical or similar (wheeee gatekeeping!), it might be helpful to better get into the behemoth that is the grace v. works debate. To set this up, this is not about God’s existence or any of that. That simply wasn’t a thing that would be questioned among that society. This is an attempt to explain perspectives. It’s also a way to explain that everywhere, and at any time, there have always been those who just want to be kind to each other. Just like I disagree vehemently with the idea of belief in God being required to do good, that doesn’t mean that belief in God means you can’t.
But back to grace vs. works.
The thing about this that is wild is that, on paper, there isn’t any disagreement.
The people in opposition to the “free grace” message did not actually believe that people could earn their salvation through good works. It’s…complicated…
The way I understand it, or remember understanding it back when I was deep in it, is that works are the outward manifestation of your status with Jesus. If you’re among the elect (this is before born-again Christianity, but I’m not getting into predestination here), you should want to do good works. Additionally, those good works are a way of preparing you for heaven. I’m pretty sure the idea of “treasures in heaven” hadn’t entered the theological lexicon at this point, but it is a similar idea. To be glib: storing up treasures in heaven means earning heaven brownie points. Sometimes there’s a literal crown involved, and the more good works you do, the more gems in your crown.
This isn’t the Puritan mindset so much. The Puritan/Calvinist perspective is sanctification through good works, basically cleaning all the mud off your soul. What happens if you don’t isn’t exactly clear and varies pastor to pastor. Sometimes you get parables that suggest you aren’t among God’s chosen, actually (thinking of the bridesmaids with the lamps specifically). Sometimes there’s an implication that adapting to God’s kingdom is going to be a lot harder, like you get to enjoy your eternal reward sooner.
To people with more works-based doctrine, the idea that you can’t do good without God is critical. They are the people that are going to be talking about all the godless wanting to go rape and murder all the time. To de-emphasize works is to create a lawless society, which is where the term “antinomian” comes from. “Antinomian” is from the Greek roots meaning against law.
Free grace advocates don’t disagree that, as one of God’s chosen, you should want to do good works. Free grace is more about Jesus being the one in control, the one who knows your heart. As mentioned before, it was popular with people that weren’t in a position to do all of those outward good works, women chief among them. It’s hard to have those shows of piety when you’re spending your time keeping your household running.
There were definitely people who used free grace as an excuse to do whatever they wanted. It was popular with the merchant class, as their focus on buying and selling was not seen as “good” in the same way. Certainly for some, the free grace mindset was a way to excuse their acts of greed. But, in a world where your entire self-worth is defined by your relation to religion, the idea provided some desperately needed relief.
In my experience, from the pulpit, the free grace perspective can run the gamut. At the personal level, there tends to be a focus on the ability of Christ to redeem all, that you aren’t doomed for hell because you fucked up one time. Regarding society, there tends to be a focus on not assuming you know the state of someone’s heart by their outward acts. They tend to focus on stories of poor people doing whatever small things they can in contrast to those making large outward displays.
This can take an extremely toxic form. The toxic form is that somebody can appear pious and do all the good things, but then if they turn away from God, that means they never believed. Since you are predestined as one of God’s elect, when you have that moment where you accept grace, there’s no take-backsies. Look, the idea of predestination is AWFUL and makes everything worse.
Hopefully this series won’t require any more theology asides. It is a thing that I’m going to need to write though, so it’s probably good that I dredged that up.
Up Next: You know what this powder keg needed? War!
💬 0 🔁 0 ❤️ 1 · The Antinomian Controversy Part 4: The Pequot War · Boiler plate intro for those who didn’t see my earlier posts in this se
Voltaire attacking Shakespeare has the exact same energy as literally every insult said against Roger Williams. Criticise them all you want, but it's never going to sound like anything other than frustration over wanting to hate them while not being able to. Every negative you say about them is also an admiration
I’m Rosie/Marlowe, and I really like to read. Consider following me/liking/rebloging this post if you also like books (I will probably follow you back).
I will mostly be posting quotes from whatever I’m reading, but I may also rant about literature from time to time.
Some of my favorite works are:
Desert Solitaire (Edward Abbey)
Kafka on the Shore (Haruki Murakami)
The Monkey Wrench Gang (Edward Abbey)
Dune (Frank Herbert)
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (JRR Tolkien)
The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect (Roger Williams)
Ceremony (Leslie Marmon Silko)
Dracula (Bram Stoker)
Hamlet (William Shakespeare)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken Kesey)
Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse)
The Road (Cormac McCarthy)
Current Reads: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (Haruki Murakami)
