Is Speech That Incites Violence Protected?

James H. Sterling
James H. Sterling
• • 7 min read

"Imminent Lawless Action Imminent Lawless Action the Brandenburg Test (Also Called the "Imminent Lawless Action" Test). .. Applying the Brandenburg Test in...

Is Speech That Incites Violence Protected?

"Imminent lawless action

Imminent lawless action
The Brandenburg test (also called the "imminent lawless action" test) ... Applying the Brandenburg test in Hess v. Indiana (1973) the Supreme Court held that the prerequisite for speech which is not protected by the First Amendment is that the speech in question must lead to “imminent disorder”.
› wiki › Brandenburg_v
" is a standard currently used that was established by the United States Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. ... Under the imminent lawless action test, speech is not protected by the First Amendment if the speaker intends to incite a violation of the law that is both imminent and likely.

Is violent speech protected by the First Amendment?

Categories of speech that are given lesser or no protection by the First Amendment (and therefore may be restricted) include obscenity, fraud, child pornography, speech integral to illegal conduct, speech that incites imminent lawless action, speech that violates intellectual property law, true threats, and commercial ...

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What kind of speech is not protected by the First Amendment?

Obscenity. Fighting words. Defamation (including libel and slander) Child pornography.

James H. Sterling

James H. Sterling

Environmental Science & Climate Journalist
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James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.