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How dangerous is it

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for protesters

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to be on the streets

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exercising their

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right to protest?

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So this morning, I had

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a conversation with someone

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who was

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thinking of participating

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in a protest in Madison today

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and is not going to do so

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because they're afraid.

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That person

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may be overreacting or not.

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But the intimidation

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and spreading

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of terror

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among protesters

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and potential protesters

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is not only very real

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it certainly appears

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to be intentional.

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And that's the

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from a

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constitutional perspective

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the biggest point

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of what's going on here.

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It's called a chilling effect.

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The police are acting in a way

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that are causing people

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to self-censor

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to refrain from engaging

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in speech

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they're entitled to engage in

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because they're afraid

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of what might happen.

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And it's very small

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comfort to say

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a year or three down the line

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a court might say

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the police officer was wrong

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in killing you.

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That's not really something

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that relieves us

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of that sense of fear.

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From

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a free speech perspective

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we protect free speech in a way

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we don't protect any other right

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There's no other

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category of

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constitutional right

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that we protect with this

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extra layer of protection.

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It's not only that

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the government

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can't prevent you

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from speaking freely.

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The government

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is not permitted to cause

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you to be afraid

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to speak freely

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even if it might turn out

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you were within your rights.

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Ultimately

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at the end of the day

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that's that chilling effect.

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And this, from my perspective

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or in my view

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absolutely no question that

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the operation in Minnesota

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has crossed

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that line of chilling effect.