Federal Judge Throws Out Charges Against White Supremacist Citing Free Speech Violations
A federal judge in Los Angeles threw out charges against three alleged white supremacists, saying that the First Amendment protected their speech. Robert Rundo, Robert Boman, and Aaron Eason, members of the Rise Above Movement (RAM), had been charged with conspiracy to commit rioting under the Anti Riot Act of 1968. The trio allegedly used the Internet to coordinate combat training, travel to protests, and attacks on protestors at three gatherings in California. District Court Judge Carmac J. Carney ruled that the federal Anti Riot Act, which was enacted during the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War, was too broad in regulating free speech.
Survey Reveals Substantial Support For First Amendment, But People Misunderstand Its Protections
According to a newly released American Bar Association civics literacy survey, the American public displays strong support for the First Amendment, but knowledge of the specifics of its protections are lacking.
Book Talk Interrupted by White Nationalist Group At Popular D.C. Bookstore
A group of white nationalists disrupted an author’s book talk at a Washington, D.C. bookstore, chanting “this land is our land,” before exiting a few moments later. About a dozen […]
Student Protesters at Harvard Disrupt Discussion And Cause Venue Change
In early April, a group of student protesters at Harvard disrupted a discussion between two administrators who were going to discuss how universities could promote economic opportunity. The event, which […]
Gene Policinski Commentary: You Think Bombs Will Deter, Discourage And Destroy Freedom? Think Again.
The Newseum Institute’s First Amendment expert, Gene Policinski, originally published this commentary on October 26, 2018, on the Newseum blog, and has given First Amendment Watch permission to reprint. […]
National Parks Service Proposal Would Compel Fees For DC Protests
The ACLU of D.C. submitted a formal written comment expressing opposition to the National Park Service’s proposed regulation changes to protest rights in the nation’s capital. Arthur Spitzer the Legal Co-Director of […]
Immigration Activist Appeals Deportation Order, Arguing 1st Amendment Rights
Immigration activist Ravi Ragbir asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to temporarily block the government from deporting him while he argues that his First Amendment rights […]
One Year Since Deadly Charlottesville Protests
The violent clashes between protestors in Charlottesville were cloaked in First Amendment rights to free speech. But while the Constitution may protect hate speech, it does not protect incitement of violence.