The governor of Virginia has called attention to a very important point — free speech does not always imply freedom from all consequences for one’s actions.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) emphasized on X that, while he will always affirm the right of those with whom he disagrees politically to exercise their free speech rights, if those public demonstrations cross the line into violence and rioting, the demonstrators will face legal consequences for their actions. This highlights the fact that Democrats — the same Democrats who suppress legitimate free speech — often falsely label violence as free speech and demand that they face no consequences for criminal activity.
The American left willfully misunderstands constitutionally protected speech. On the one hand, they refuse to acknowledge that speech which they subjectively find offensive or “hateful” is actually First Amendment-protected speech. On the other hand, leftists refuse to acknowledge that calls for assassination, explicit endorsement of murder, and physical violence are not in fact protected by the First Amendment. That is why leftists were lying when they said firings of those who celebrated Charlie Kirk’s death and called for more assassinations were attacks on free speech (most especially if the employers were private entities).
Recommended: Charlie Kirk, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Modernity’s Attack on Conscience
Gov. Youngkin brought this inconvenient truth to the fore in his warning to lefty “No Kings” protestors in Virginia:
With planned protests across the country this weekend, including in Virginia, I want to be clear that Virginians have a fundamental right to free speech and peaceful assembly, but that right does not include the destruction of property, looting, vandalism, disruption of traffic, or violence of any kind—for which there will be zero tolerance. We are coordinating closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement and I have authorized members of the National Guard to be placed in “state active duty” status to ensure the Guard will be ready to respond alongside our substantially increased police presence to help keep Virginians safe.
This should be an obvious truth, but there is no truth so obvious that Democrats won’t deny it.
After all, violence has been a Democrat political tool for well over 150 years — in the lead up to the Civil War, the Civil War itself (launched, of course, by Democrats), then all through the infamous era of Jim Crow and the KKK, and finally culminating in the Antifa/BLM/Trantifa/anti-ICE riots of our present day.
From the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, which Democrats celebrated, to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, which Democrats celebrated, from the 19th century to the 21st century, we see an almost unbroken line of Democrat political violence. And after years of Democrat politicians and media figures defending or encouraging rioters and using the most extreme rhetoric against their opponents, it should be obvious that the whole Democrat Party has a domestic terrorism problem, not just a lunatic fringe within the party.
And that is why Youngkin is absolutely right to take precautions. If it looks like a leftist protester, screams like a leftist protester, and lies like a leftist protester, you can bet it is likely also a violent rioter.
