Anons, Patriots, I rise before you today with words of caution, words of warning. The twin flames of truth and justice were allowed to burn low by those who preceded us until they had become little more than embers. Now we have taken up the task of rekindling them. Once again a small flame begins to come forth, which even now could be snuffed out by a mere puff of wind from the wrong quarter. However, we must be ever mindful that while fire provides light in the dark and warmth in the cold, it can also if left unchecked destroy.

Let me be clear. To those to whom power was given who abused that power for whatever purpose, let them be tried in open court. Let all the evidence against them be heard in public without redaction. Let them be judged accordingly. However, we must also respect those who defend them in these proceedings for we owe them a debt of gratitude. Just as on these boards we claim that notables are not endorsement, so a vigorous defense of the most odious, even once convicted, is not an endorsement. Nay, it is an absolute necessity if the principle of innocent until proven guilty is to be accorded anything more than mere lip service, for an accusation is not guilt, and even the innocent can be convicted.

Similarly those to whom power and position have been granted who refused to employ that power so as to not impede the subversion of the structures they swore to defend, or who threatened the use of that power in furtherance of that subversion. Let their acts too be known publicly that they may be driven from office and stripped of power at the earliest possible opportunity.

Those without special position or title who acted to further the subversion whether by arson, theft, assault, or any other criminal act, let them also be tried and feel the full weight of justice upon their shoulders.

But for those whose only offense was to espouse opinions of which we disapprove, if we hold dear the principles of liberty and free speech then these individuals we must let pass unscathed. We must do this even though their opinions exude the most odious reek and their words drip with the most corrosive of vitriol.

And so we return to where we started, with words of warning and caution. But these are not my words. History is replete with the cautionary stories of patriots who lit the fires of revolution only to find when those flames had gone out that they had burnt away the very foundations of all the patriots had sought to defend, and the patriots had become the very tyrants they sought to depose. For these patriots had fallen prey to the most insidious of their foes, the belief that the ends justified the means. This is the belief of those we oppose. Let us not fall prey to it ourselves. Let us heed the warnings of patriots past. Let use learn from their mistakes and not repeat them. Let us be ever vigilant against our worst impulses.