7 Chilling Ways Your Rights Are Vanishing. #3 Is Law Now.

The Executive Overreach: Governing by Decree

Governor Noem’s use of executive power has repeatedly bypassed traditional legislative and judicial checks, setting a dangerous precedent for unilateral action.

Her most infamous move was the issuance of Executive Order 2021-10, which sought to ban critical race theory in state universities through fiat, not law.

This order effectively attempted to dictate curriculum and police academic speech from the governor’s office, a move critics argued was a blatant violation of academic freedom and due process for educators.

Legal scholars pointed out that such complex intellectual matters are typically debated and decided through transparent legislative processes, not executive command.

This established a pattern of governing where edicts replace debate, sidelining the very processes designed to protect citizen interests.

Legislative Leverage: The “Riot Boosting” Act and Its Ilk

Perhaps the most chilling example of legislative action supported by Noem is the so-called “riot boosting” law, initially passed in 2019.

This legislation was strategically designed to silence opposition to controversial pipeline projects by creating staggering financial liability for organizations deemed to be “riot boosters.”

The law was so constitutionally dubious that a federal judge blocked it, stating it likely violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments by being dangerously overbroad and vague.

Instead of conceding, the Noem administration doubled down, pushing through a revised version that still aimed to criminalize and financially cripple protest organizers.

This creates a scenario where individuals and groups can be punished with crippling lawsuits not for actions they themselves took, but for speech that allegedly encouraged others, a direct assault on the principle that punishment requires a direct, provable act.

The Assault on Personal Autonomy: Vaccine Mandate Bans

In a contradictory twist, Noem has also used the language of freedom to justify policies that undermine the rights of private entities and local governments.

She issued an executive order prohibiting state and local governments from requiring vaccines or vaccine passports, a move she framed as protecting liberty.

However, critics argue this top-down mandate actually strips away the due process rights of local communities and businesses to make their own health and safety decisions.

By preventing school boards, city councils, and counties from enacting their own democratically determined policies, she centralized power and nullified local self-governance.

This creates a paradox where the government forbids you from making choices for your own community, all in the name of “freedom.”

The Transparency Trap: Eroding Public Trust

A functioning due process system requires transparency so citizens can hold their government accountable.

Noem’s administration has been repeatedly accused of obscuring actions from public view, most notably in the handling of the state’s hemp licensing program.

An Associated Press investigation found that her administration ignored its own scoring system to award lucrative licenses to former officials and political allies.

When processes are manipulated behind closed doors, the public’s right to a fair and impartial system—a core tenet of due process—evaporates.

This lack of transparency ensures that challenges to government action are nearly impossible, as the decision-making process itself is hidden.

The Long-Term Consequences: A Blueprint for Erosion

The immediate effect of these policies is the direct harm to the South Dakotans targeted by them—protesters, educators, and local officials.

But the long-term consequence is far more sinister: the normalization of due process erosion.

Each executive order that stands, each legally questionable law that is enacted, sets a new and lower standard for what constitutes acceptable government power.

It creates a legal blueprint that other states can, and likely will, copy, spreading this model of weakened constitutional protections across the country.

As one legal expert ominously noted, “The walls of due process are not knocked down with a single blow, but are bricked away, one statute and one order at a time, until one day you look up and realize they’re gone.”

What Can You Do? Look, Learn, and Lobby

This is not a drill; it is a documented, ongoing process.

The most powerful weapon against the slow death of rights is an informed and activated citizenry.

You must look beyond the political rhetoric and examine the actual text of laws and orders being proposed in your state.

Learn about the organizations, on both sides of the aisle, that are dedicated to protecting constitutional liberties.

And finally, lobby your local representatives; make it clear that you are watching and that you value due process above political party.

The question is no longer if your rights can vanish, but whether you will be paying enough attention to notice before they’re gone.