How dangerous is it
for protesters
to be on the streets
exercising their
right to protest?
So this morning, I had
a conversation with someone
who was
thinking of participating
in a protest in Madison today
and is not going to do so
because they're afraid.
That person
may be overreacting or not.
But the intimidation
and spreading
of terror
among protesters
and potential protesters
is not only very real
it certainly appears
to be intentional.
And that's the
from a
constitutional perspective
the biggest point
of what's going on here.
It's called a chilling effect.
The police are acting in a way
that are causing people
to self-censor
to refrain from engaging
in speech
they're entitled to engage in
because they're afraid
of what might happen.
And it's very small
comfort to say
a year or three down the line
a court might say
the police officer was wrong
in killing you.
That's not really something
that relieves us
of that sense of fear.
From
a free speech perspective
we protect free speech in a way
we don't protect any other right
There's no other
category of
constitutional right
that we protect with this
extra layer of protection.
It's not only that
the government
can't prevent you
from speaking freely.
The government
is not permitted to cause
you to be afraid
to speak freely
even if it might turn out
you were within your rights.
Ultimately
at the end of the day
that's that chilling effect.
And this, from my perspective
or in my view
absolutely no question that
the operation in Minnesota
has crossed
that line of chilling effect.