Free Speech and Violence

No one is above the law

   On the same day that Fox News fired Bill O'Reilly over sexual harassment issues, the University of California at Berkeley cancelled a planned speech by conservative author Ann Coulter, citing security issues.
   The right of free speech goes both ways. Everyone has the right to speak freely on his or her opinions, and the rest of us have the right not to listen. No one, however, has the right to threaten or beat up on those with whom they disagree.
   Bill O'Reilly lost his platform as the host of a nightly TV talk show, brought on by his own misbehavior with women at the company, as well as the loss of advertising revenue as companies withdrew their financial support of his program. Fox News apparently decided that the cost of settling lawsuits brought by women who were harassed on the job, as well as the loss of advertising revenue that some 50 sponsors would otherwise have spent, was not worth keeping O'Reilly on the job.
   Nevertheless, he has not lost his right of free speech. He can speak at other places, and write as many books as he pleases. Others have an equal right not to listen, and not to buy any of his books.
   They do not, however, have the right to force him off the speaking platform with threats of violence or to burn his books.
   In effect, that is what happened to Ann Coulter, whose planned appearance at Berkeley, otherwise a liberal bastion, was cancelled after supposedly liberal activists protested, with some instances of threats and violence.
   There is a double standard here. Liberals are often the first to insist on the right of peaceable assembly and free speech, as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but they too often do so for themselves and violently oppose similar gatherings and speeches by conservatives.
   Equally, conservatives have been known to attack liberal protesters at political campaign rallies. Currently, several protesters are suing President Donald Trump, alleging that he encouraged and incited violence against those who protested, with comments like, "Get him out of here," and "Maybe he should be roughed up."
  Trump's defense is that as president, he cannot be sued.
  But the Declaration of Independence stipulates that all are created equal, so a president is therefore subject to the same laws and behavioral standards as anyone else.
   Moreover, a legal precedent has already upheld that principle, as former President Bill Clinton was subpoenaed and forced to testify in a civil case brought by Paula Jones.
   Granted, incitement to riot or assault someone may be a criminal case, but the principle is the same. No one in America is immune from legal action. There may be some exceptions, but this is not one of them.
   A president may be impeached, convicted and removed from office, but that's not necessarily the end of things. The president can then be charged and face prosecution in the court system after removal from office.
   That's why Gerald Ford issued a pardon to Richard Nixon after Nixon resigned the presidency, even though no charges had been brought. The belief here is that it was a preemptive pardon to persuade Nixon to leave.