You can't yell fire in a crowded theater.

 

As the seditionists from the January 6th insurrection continue to be rounded up and charged with their crimes sycophants have begun shouting "free speech" in an attempt to defend their criminality.

 

Time for a little history lesson.

 

In 1919, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Homes, Jr's. opinion in Schenck v. United States held that a defendant's speech in opposition to the draft during World War I was not protected free speech under the first Amendment of the United States Constitution.

 

Holmes said that expressions which in the circumstances were intended to result in a crime, and posed a "clear and present danger" of succeeding, could be punished.

 

In 1969,  in Brandenburg v. Ohio the Supreme Court limited the scope of banned speech to that which would be directed to and likely to incite imminent lawless action, e.g. a riot.

 

Hence the shorthand phrase - "You can't yell fire in a crowded theater."

 

Research showed that fake election news declined by 73% after Trump and some of his pals were banned from social media.  (Dwoskin & Timberg, 2021)

 

It also showed that just a few bad actors are responsible for the distribution of fake news including: Sean Hannity, Eric Trump, James Wood and Breitbart News.  (Election Integrity Partnership Team, 2020)

 

Shouldn't they also be banned from social media for shouting fire in a crowded theater?  After all, they did incite an insurrection. 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_theater#:~:text=The%20original%20wording%20used%20in,is%20dangerous%20but%20also%20true.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenck_v._United_States

 

Dwoskin, E. & Timberg, C. (2021, January 16)  Misinformation dropped dramatically the week after Twitter banned Trump and some allies.  washingtonpost.com.  Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/16/misinformation-trump-twitter/

Election Integrity Partnership Team (2020, October 29)  Repeat Offenders: Voting Misinformation on Twitter in the 2020 United States Election.  eipartnership.net.  Retrieved January 26, 2021, from https://www.eipartnership.net/rapid-response/repeat-offenders

Many Americans learned a new word last week - Sedition

 

According to Merriam-Webster searches for the word "sedition" were up 1500% on January 6th, the day thousands of domestic terrorists egged on by Trump and his fellow Republicans stormed the Congress to disrupt the certification of the legitimate election results.

 

Merriam-Webster defines sedition as “incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority.”

 

Now let's recap what Trump and his fellow insurrectionists said/did to stoke the riots...

 

Ron Johnson said: 50 to 70 million Americans "have real legitimate suspicions that this election was stolen" 

 

Paul Gosar of Arizona called Biden an "illegitimate usurper." 

 

Ted Cruz of Texas cited: "unprecedented allegations of voter fraud." And said, "Are they going to try to steal?  Yes" 

 

Mo Brooks of Missouri said: "start taking down names and kicking ass"

 

Before the insurrection Trump himself said: You'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong."

 

During the insurrection Lauren Boebert of Colorado live tweeted Nancy Pelosi's location.

 

But this photo of Josh Hawley giving a fist pump to the crowd as they stormed the Capitol will probably resonate the most.  Photos have a way of doing that.

 

Today Trump will become the first U.S. president in history to be impeached twice.  And the first one impeached for Incitement of Insurrection.

 

But what about his co-conspirators in the Sedition Caucus?

 

The 14th amendment, section 3 says:

 

Section 3

No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

 

Words matter.

Sedition matters.

Take another look at that photo.

 

Trending 'sedition'  merriam-webster.com.  Retrieved January 12, 2021, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/news-trend-watch/sedition-20210106