I visited Truth Social this morning to see what was on President Trump’s mind. I found this post:
Representative Ilhan Omar is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota. She is a progressive frequently allied with New York Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez.
President Trump’s social media post reads like what we all condemn as “hate speech.” But, what is “hate speech?”
The American Library Association (ALA) tells us:
Hate speech is any form of expression through which speakers intend to vilify, humiliate, or incite hatred against a group or a class of persons on the basis of race, religion, skin color, sexual identity, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, or national origin.
In the case of the President’s comment, the group or class of persons could be Somalis, or it could be Congressional progressives. The basis for the hate could be religion, skin color, ethnicity, or national origin, as well as affiliation with the Democratic Party and support for liberal and progressive causes. (President Trump denies he is a racist and likely would deny his comment on Omar is hate speech.)
The ALA goes on to tell us:
There is no legal definition of "hate speech" under U.S. law, just as there is no legal definition for evil ideas, rudeness, unpatriotic speech, or any other kind of speech that people might condemn.
They also note:
In the United States, hate speech is protected by the First Amendment. Courts extend this protection on the grounds that the First Amendment requires the government to strictly protect robust debate on matters of public concern even when such debate devolves into distasteful, offensive, or hateful speech that causes others to feel grief, anger, or fear. (The Supreme Court's decision in Snyder v. Phelps provides an example of this legal reasoning.) Under current First Amendment jurisprudence, hate speech can only be criminalized when it directly incites imminent criminal activity or consists of specific threats of violence targeted against a person or group.
If the ALA is correct, President Trump has not committed a crime for his social media post, even though it could incite violence against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. And even if the post were "illegal hate speech,” the President has immunity from prosecution. (The Supreme Court just reiterated this in Trump v. United States.)
Following the murder of activist Charlie Kirk, Attorney General Bondi promised to “go after you if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.” She said that before President Trump’s comment, which sounds like hate speech.
Bondi subsequently clarified her statement, acknowledging that the First Amendment protects free speech and indicating that hate speech that incites violence will be prosecuted, but not other hate speech that may just be “dissent.”
We live in troubled times . . .
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You got that right
Once again The Donald demonstrates that he is an ignorant bigoted asshole.