This Day in History: American President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus on this day (April 27) in 1861, which, in effect, made him a dictator.
"What are habeas corpus rights? According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 'Habeas corpus is a fundamental right in the Constitution that protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment. Translated from Latin it means ‘show me the body.’ Habeas corpus has historically been an important instrument to safeguard individual freedom against arbitrary executive power.' A citizen must be charged and cannot be held indefinitely. A charge requires a trial, and if found guilty in a trial, there is a sentence for a specific amount of time." Source
Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus "had been so broad as to allow local authorities to arbitrarily arrest anyone they personally considered to be disloyal or whose politics they simply disliked. Some of those arrested had done nothing more than criticize Lincoln. Union General Henry Halleck famously arrested a Missouri man merely for saying, '[I] wouldn’t wipe my @$$ with the stars and stripes.' Estimates of those arrested range widely, but overall 10,000 to 15,000 were probably imprisoned and denied a prompt trial." Source
"This wasn’t the first time the government in Washington had trampled the Bill of Rights. No less than the administration of John Adams, an American founding patriot, briefly shut down newspapers and dissenting opinion with its Alien & Sedition Acts of 1798." Source
The same thing is happening today with the handling of the cases of the defendants in the January 6 so-called “insurrection” in Washington DC to protest the Presidential election. "Those being held for many months without a trial are being denied their habeas corpus rights under the U.S. Constitution and even dating back to English law hundreds of years before our Constitution was implemented. They are not only being incarcerated without having had a trial, but there is some evidence that they are being mistreated or are being held 23 hours a day in solitary confinement which is a punishment accorded only the most dangerous criminals." Source
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