Civics: Where is protest allowed?

Aaron Terr:

The right to protest is strongest in places Americans have long assembled to speak their minds: public parks, streets and sidewalks. If Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is conducting operations on a public street, you may stand nearby to protest as long as you’re not physically interfering. Importantly, officials may never shut down a protest simply because they dislike its message. Anywhere you can say “I love ICE!” is also a place you can say “I hate ICE!”

The government can impose limited restrictions in public spaces. A permit may be required for large demonstrations that require street closures, for example. But even then, the government can never condition approval on the viewpoints to be expressed.

And you don’t have a First Amendment right to protest on private property without the owner’s permission. That means you can’t occupy a church, as anti-ICE demonstrators recently did, and expect constitutional protection.


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