Legal expert: Election rants, threats are pushing First Amendment limits

[Commentary] Free speech is an American’s birthright. But for the first time in living memory, ordinary people are pushing the boundaries of the First Amendment. Message boards, on-line comment sections and social media make the problem even worse. A lot of these people may think that they are just blowing off steam. But when you are actually discussing using violence to overthrow the government or to interfere with an election, there’s a very thin line between “just talk” and criminal conspiracy.

In the modern world, it is perfectly possible to become a member of a criminal conspiracy by “liking” a tweet. Conspiracy is a little different than most crimes. The essence of conspiracy is an agreement by two or more people to do something illegal. Some conspiracy statutes require that at least one of the participants take some concrete step — known as an “overt act” — toward actually carrying out the conspiracy. Some statutes do not. The First Amendment is a national treasure. It protects our right to speak our minds without fear of government sanction. But the First Amendment also has limits. It does not protect violent conspiracy or planning bloody revolutions. It doesn’t protect casual talk about the “need” to assassinate the President. Know those limits and respect them. On Nov 9th, this election will be over and we will need to start putting the country back together. Start that process today. Speak out against calls for violence. Be a voice for civility and calm. Stand up for our democratic traditions. Not only will this help keep you out of trouble, it will help keep our country out of trouble.
[Truax is an appellate attorney in San Diego, California.]