Protest Politics

The First Amendment guarantees the right to assemble, but in recent years that principle has come under increased scrutiny. Whether it be state legislators who want to mitigate consequences for drivers who “accidentally” hit demonstrators or attorneys in the District of Columbia attempting to indict journalists and nurses for rioting they were not a part of, the protest scene in the United States is beginning to resemble the street battles that took place in the Vietnam War era. And as organized political movements have drawn millions for the Women’s March in 2016 or the Families Belong Together March in 2018, the politics of protest are not likely to mellow anytime soon. Does the state ever have a legitimate interest in restricting — or even punishing — protests?