Blaming Kirk’s Killing on Free Speech Is Dangerous: Noah Feldman

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the Trump administration is following a very specific, very old script. It argues that political speech causes political violence, and that this speech must therefore be punished.

It is imperative that all defenders of free speech — whether on the left, right, or in the center — reject this narrative from the outset. For more than a century, the American understanding of free speech has been that political expression may only be punished when it incites imminent violence, for example, whipping up a crowd of angry people until they riot.

This principle of free ...