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In an article by NBC News, Elisha Fieldstadt highlights the arrest of Kelly Jackson who was sentenced to 40 months in prison for using Molotov cocktails in order to set police cars on fire during a protest for the death of George Floyd. The problem is, actions, especially violent ones such as damaging property, are not protected by the First Amendment and it is rather a crime.
The First Amendment is extremely important to the foundation of our country, and while it does cover and protect a lot, it can be limited when it comes to assembly, speech, and petition. The only time an action can be protected is when it is a peaceful expressive action. Expressive actions are messages without words therefore it can be protected. However, most other actions are not a right and neither is speech that is threatening especially if towards someone important like the president.
There are also limitations depending on where and in what circumstances it happens. The government is the only one who can violate your rights. What I mean by this is, if you went to a private school, they are allowed to forbid you from saying or doing whatever they please.
These tie into the Bedrock Principles which state things like the First Amendment isn't a shield against laws that apply to everyone. Crime applies to everyone and you aren't exempt because of any circumstance such as religion. The bedrock principal also says that freedom of the press is a personal right not institutional. This means everyone can print what they want as long as it is protected, not only big industries like news outlets.
It is important to remember when going to a protest, you must still abide by laws and make sure what you are doing is covered by your rights, otherwise like Kelly Jackson, you will have to deal with the consequences.
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