Anti-Trump protests cap a week of free speech stress tests across America
CNN
Virtually every flashpoint in American politics right now involves the First Amendment right to free speech and free expression.
Virtually every flashpoint in American politics right now involves the First Amendment right to free speech and free expression. Some of this tension is due to President Donald Trump, who vowed in his inaugural address to “bring back free speech to America,” but who keeps showing that he wants some forms of speech to carry a great cost. From arrests of Palestinian activists to blitzes against universities to threats against demonstrators in Washington, DC, the Trump administration’s actions and words have alarmed free speech organizations — and have fueled Saturday’s “No Kings” protests across the country. “Trump’s retaliation campaign against free speech has entered a new and even more dangerous phase,” Nora Benavidez, a civil rights and free speech attorney at the group Free Press, told CNN Friday. International human rights groups have taken notice. Amnesty International denounced Trump’s recent claim that any protests during Saturday’s Army parade would be met with “very big force.” “Now is a good moment to remind President Trump that protesting is a human right and that his administration is obligated to respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly – not suppress them,” the group said in a statement.
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