Posts Tagged ‘Trump’
There’s no ‘disinformation’ exception to the First Amendment | The Hill
Misinformation and disinformation retain the basic characteristics of speech. Unless they fall into one of very few exceptions, they are protected from censorship under the First Amendment. Consistent with those very limited exceptions, any effort by the government to prevent the dissemination of ideas or opinions, even if they are based on untruths, is unconstitutional.…
Read MoreJack Smith’s requested gag order, like judicial orders restricting Trump’s speech, seeks to balance constitutional rights | The Conversation
In each of former President Donald Trump’s four indictments, he has been allowed to stay out of jail before his trial so long as he abides by certain conditions commonly applied to most people accused of crimes in the U.S. In the federal case in Washington, D.C., that concerns Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the…
Read MoreJack Smith’s Trump indictment goes where free speech ends and criminal conspiracy begins | The Hill
Before Monday’s additional state indictment in Georgia, former President Trump stood accused in federal court of criminal conspiracy to subvert the 2020 presidential election results. Conspiracy charges, by their very nature, include communication. But on the second page of the federal indictment, in the third enumerated paragraph, the prosecution attempts to make clear that Trump is not being…
Read MoreThere is no First Amendment right to violence | New York Daily News
In his farewell address to Congress, Rep. Adam Kinzinger chastised his Republican colleagues for justifying the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol as “legitimate political discourse.” As the Jan. 6 Committee report made clear, while the message of Trump supporters might be protected political speech, the medium used by the insurrectionists — violent attacks on…
Read MoreBear Spray and Speech | Medium
Certainly, those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, had something to say. The exact content of their messages might have differed: some wanted to express their (mistaken) belief that the presidential election was fraudulent, others were simply angry that Donald Trump lost the election, and some were opportunists who used the false flag…
Read MoreTrump once demanded we “open up” libel laws — it seems some Justices on the Supreme Court agree | Medium
In the current media environment, anyone can gain access to a keyboard and an internet connection and state their claim. Debate in the digital age is large and robust. It is also often dishonest and manipulative. Conspiracy theories run rampant, and words are weaponized, particularly against the most visible members of our population: public officials…
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