Star Wars Movie Fans Face Police State, Stripped Of 4th Amendment Constitutional Rights [Picture]

Los Angeles, CA – The force was most certainly awakened yesterday in Hollywood during the premiere of the new Star Wars movie, but this force was not of the fictional variety. In a stunning display of police overreach, the LAPD turned a portion of downtown Los Angeles into a pseudo martial law zone.

According to reports, police cordoned off several blocks around the famed TLC Chinese theater in Hollywood. On Thursday, LAPD officers had already barricaded a stretch of Hollywood boulevard from from Highland Ave. to La Brea Ave. and installed metal detectors around the screening venues over the weekend.

Security will be tight 4 the latest #StarWars premiere tonight. Metal detectors have been set-up. @KNX1070 @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/uGY8oLWbXX

— Jon Baird (@KNXBaird) December 14, 2015

In addition to shutting down a portion of the city, officers also conducted random warrantless “Stop & Frisk” searches asreported by TMZ.

Disney is also said to have spent $20,000 hiring both uniformed and plain clothes security officers for the event.

According to The Hollywood reporter, bomb-sniffing dogs were seen checking the perimeter of a large white tent where celebrities walked the red carpet, while security personnel were seen inspecting the surroundings of each screening venue.

This latest encroachment on individual liberty is just another in a long string of events in which Americans have routinely demonstrated that they’re more than willing to sacrifice freedom for the perception of security.

As Benjamin Franklin famously said:

Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.