John Washington III Announces an Investigation Into the People's Right to Travel — and Whether a Driver's License Is Permission the Constitution Never Gave
John Washington III said he will launch an independent investigation into whether operating a private vehicle on public roads is part of the people's unalienable right to travel — examining the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Supreme Court decisions and every state's regulatory laws, and tallying what governments have collected in traffic fines and fees.
DALLAS — John Washington III, a candidate for president in 2028, announced on Tuesday that he will launch an independent investigation into what he called the people's right to travel — and into whether the government has the constitutional authority to require permission, through driver's licenses and other regulations, before Americans operate their own private vehicles on public roads. "The question is simple," he wrote. "Is operating your own private vehicle on public roads part of the people's unalienable right to travel, or does the government have the constitutional authority to require permission through driver's licenses and other regulations?"
John Washington III said the investigation will examine the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Supreme Court decisions, and the laws that every state has created to regulate the movement of the American people. For drivers in Dallas and across Texas, the question he is posing runs through the state's own licensing system — the permission structure his investigation proposes to test against the constitutional text. He also said the investigation will examine how much money state and local governments have collected from the American people through traffic citations, fines, fees and other penalties associated with these laws. "The government was created to protect the rights of the people, not to violate them for financial gain," he wrote.
John Washington III said that if the investigation uncovers unconstitutional laws, unlawful arrests, illegal detentions, or financial penalties imposed in violation of the people's constitutional rights, he will demand accountability — and that every state government, law enforcement agency and public official responsible for proven constitutional violations must be held accountable through the appropriate legal process. He framed the inquiry as one of facts, constitutional authority and government accountability. "The Constitution comes first. The people come first. And no government is above the law!" he wrote.
