Gorka Advocates Violating the First Amendment for Israel

Speech in support of Palestinian resistance equals incitement to violence.

Sebastian Gorka again. This time Gorka acts like he knows the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He claims the First Amendment prohibits incitement. It does, under certain conditions. The Supreme Court ruled speech is prohibited if directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action. Furthermore, the speech must be likely to incite or produce such action. In Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the Court overruled a previous ruling on “clear and present danger” and said advocacy of illegal action is not sufficient for restriction, that is unless it meets the imminent and likely criteria.

Direct calls for violence that result in immediate unlawful acts are illegal. For instance, encouraging a person to throw a Molotov cocktail at the police during a street demonstration. Gorka is correct if he is talking about serious threats directed at individuals and groups. I don’t think that is what he is talking about.

Expressing support for Hamas and Hezbollah or chanting “from the River to the Sea” does not measure up to incitement under the First Amendment. Gorka believes anti-Israel speech may be defined as illegal incitement. He characterizes antizionist protesters as Iranian and Russian “fellow travelers.”

Gorka said he cannot discuss “ongoing operations” by the FBI, an agency directed by an incompetent alcoholic that has zero senior-level law enforcement experience, or those by the Treasury Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Justice Department with its new Attorney General, Todd Blanche, who is involved in initiatives targeting antisemitism, aka anti-zionism.

It’s no mistake Gorka specifically mentioned Israel. Anti-zionism is now conflated with antisemitism, and the last few AIPAC holdouts like Rep. Thomas Massie face defeat against Jewish lobby candidates (the lobby spent nearly $12 million for the campaign of opponent Ed Gallrein, with $25 million spent on anti-Massie ads). The prospect of the entirety of Congress going Zionist is a real possibility (a mere thirteen congresspersons, out of 535 members, reject AIPAC funding, including Bernie Sanders, the so-called “Squad,” and others).

It is drawing closer and closer to the day when it will be illegal to criticize and protest against Zionist crimes in Palestine. Gorka said they are taking down names.

https://anotherdayintheempire.substack.com/p/gorka-advocates-violating-the-first