One Year After Charlottesville: How Should the Government Handle White Supremacist Protests?

What’s the story?

• On August 12, white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, and alt-right groups are rallying outside the White House to mark the anniversary of last year's fatal Charlottesville, Virginia, Unite the Right event. 
• Officials in Washington, D.C., are banning all guns at this weekend’s Unite the Right 2 rally and anticipated counter protests.

“The rules are pretty simple,” D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said. “Don't hurt anyone and don't break anything.”

• Meanwhile, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency for the commonwealth, and specifically the city of Charlottesville, ahead of the white nationalist rally.
• While “hate speech” is protected by the First Amendment, threats and “fighting words” are not. Some have argued this applies to the Unite the Right protestors.

What are both sides saying about Unite the Right 2?

• D.C.’s Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser condemned the event.

“We have people coming to our city for the sole purpose of spewing hate. We denounce hate, we denounce anti-Semitism, and we denounce the rhetoric we expect to hear this Sunday,” she said at a local synagogue.

• Jason Kessler, who organized this weekend’s Unite the Right 2 rally, said “white people should be able to have the same rights as other groups.”
• On May 8, the self-described “white civil rights activist” filed an application with the National Park Service to hold a rally of 400 people in Lafayette Park, directly across from the White House. On his application, Kessler stated the purpose of the event was:

“Protesting civil rights abuse in Charlottesville Va / white civil rights rally.”

• Kessler, who also organized last year’s event, had originally hoped to hold the anniversary rally in Charlottesville. When the city denied the request, he challenged the decision in court, but eventually withdraw his request.

Charlottesville

• On August 11, 2017, hundreds of white supremacists marched through Charlottesville, carrying torches and chanting racist slogans. Counterprotestors clashed with the Unite the Right group, leading to multiple injuries.
• The event turned deadly when a car, allegedly driven by James Fields Jr. of Ohio, plowed into protestors on a crowded side street, killing 32-year old local paralegal Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. 

Does the First Amendment protect white supremacist protesters?

Not all speech is protected by the First Amendment. While “hate speech” is protected, the following speech is not:

• Threats - Speech isn’t protected when it targets someone with bodily harm or death.
• "Fighting Words" - The Court defines fighting words as "those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace." This includes language intended to incite violence or to encourage an audience to commit illegal acts.

To prove that speech isn’t protected because of the First Amendment's "fighting words" doctrine, an individual has to show three things: 1) the language is an insulting word or phrase; 2) It’s said face to face to someone; 3) The phrase is likely to provoke someone to retaliate.

What do you think?

How do you think government (state/local/federal) should handle the upcoming anniversary of last year's deadly Unite the Right rally and counterprotest? When does free speech become “fighting words”? Could putting limitations on free speech prevent another Charlottesville? Hit the Take Action button and use your First Amendment rights to comment below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: @UniteTheRightVA via Twitter)