What Happened to Freedom of Speech?

On Sep. 10, Charlie Kirk, a prominent right-wing political podcaster and media personality, was shot and killed at Utah Valley University during an outdoor debate with students. Kirk would often travel from university to university, challenging college students to “prove him wrong” in a debate, and was assassinated during one of these gatherings.

Kirk’s murder came as a shock to many across the United States, sparking a wide range of reactions. Fellow right-wing activists and conservative politicians publicly grieved the loss of their friend and colleague, while left-wing politicians openly condemned the act of political violence, reiterating the need for gun reform in America. Online, however, the general reaction was much less mournful. People flocked online to criticize politicians for “martyring” Kirk, who spouted many racist, sexist and discriminatory views throughout his career. Many questioned whether this was a man who deserved to be honored.

One of the foundational principles of the United States, outlined in the First Amendment of the Constitution, is freedom of speech. There are certain forms of speech that are unprotected by the First Amendment, such as obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement of violence, fighting words, true violence or speech integral to criminal conduct. At the same time, all political and ideological statements are protected by the Constitution. Kirk himself was a big advocate for freedom of speech, often using this concept to defend his most controversial statements, writing on X that even “ugly,” “gross” and “evil” speech is protected and allowed under the law. 

However, the current Trump administration has begun to completely disregard this fundamental right of Americans, encouraging crackdowns on anyone who has been critical of Kirk following his assassination. In the days after Kirk’s death, President Donald Trump and his closest advisors threatened to utilize the extensive power of the federal government to uncover and penalize an alleged “left-wing network” that is funding and inciting violence towards conservatives, including the coordination of Kirk’s assassination. President Trump provided no evidence that could prove the existence of such a network, seemingly utilizing the death of Charlie Kirk as an excuse to go after any criticism from his political opponents. 

At least 145 people have been identified to have faced disciplinary actions in the workplace over the last few weeks for statements they have made or posted about Kirk in the aftermath of his murder, whether it be teachers, restaurant workers or lawyers. The U.S. government has encouraged this restriction of free speech, as Vice President JD Vance encouraged his supporters to call the bosses of those who had celebrated Kirk’s death and ensure they are disciplined. “Call them out,” he said, “and hell, call their employer.”

The U.S. government has also revoked the visas of at least six foreign nationals on the grounds of celebrating Kirk’s death. On Oct. 13 the U.S. State Department posted screenshots of online comments by six people on its X account, writing “The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death of Americans” and that they would continue to “identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk”, implying they would continue to try and deport anyone critical of Kirk.  

The crackdown garnering the most attention from the general public has been the removal of Jimmy Kimmel’s late night ABC Network show from the air. On the episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! that aired after Kirk’s assassination, Kimmel referred to the shooting’s suspect as a member of the right and mocked President Trump’s reaction to the shooting. Brendan Carr, the chair of broadcast regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), appointed to this position by President Trump, demanded an apology from Kimmel for his remarks, threatening to act against ABC and its parent company Disney if Kimmel did not comply.  Subsequently, Nexstar Media, one of the most prominent owners of TV stations in the United States, confirmed it would pull Kimmel’s show from the air indefinitely. 

Kimmel’s show was ultimately put back on air only a couple of days later. However, this was entirely due to the massive pushback from viewers, politicians and other members of Hollywood who claimed it was an act of political censorship. The U.S.government made no effort to condemn the clear violation of free speech by the FCC. In fact, President Trump celebrated Kimmel’s suspension, calling it “great news for America.”

While these crackdowns of free speech have definitely worsened in the wake of Kirk’s assassination, this exhibits a wider trend of suppression and constitutional violations that have been perpetuated by the Trump administration since his inauguration. Jimmy Kimmel was not the first news host to be pulled from the air due to unfavorable speech in the eyes of the Trump administration – CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was cancelled back in July. This cancellation came just three days after Colbert criticized CBS’s parent company Paramount for its $16 million settlement with President Trump for its similarities with bribery. Colbert’s show has not been reinstated.

In March, Columbia University was under scrutiny with free speech advocates for their creation of a disciplinary committee dedicated to investigating students who are critical of Israel. Despite the right to criticize Israel often being as a political statement, thus protected by the First Amendment. President Trump and his administration, instead of penalizing Columbia University for the flagrant violation of freedom of speech, cancelled $400 million in federal funding to the institution on the grounds that they had not done enough to protect its students from “antisemitic harassment.” President Trump and his administration continued by issuing a letter containing a list of demands for Columbia University to comply with that would further limit anti-Israeli speech. Columbia University responded with an even more extreme crackdown on students’ free speech by expelling, suspending and temporarily revoking the degrees of dozens of students involved in pro-Palestinian protests the previous school year. 

All this leads us to the question: what has happened to freedom of speech in the United States? The First Amendment of the Constitution reflects the quintessential ideals of being an American —freedom to say what you want, do what you want, and be who you want. And yet now, what used to be considered a fundamental liberty for all Americans is being infringed upon daily.

Uncertainty in what used to be an undeniable fact of life raises many concerns. If not all speech is protected any more, who decides which kind is unprotected? If someone can’t even express their disagreement with a political figure following their assassination, where do we draw the line? Can anyone say anything anymore?

Photo Source: Newton graffiti, flickr