Words, Wounds, and Relationships: Why Social Ties Matter to Free Speech in High-Conflict Protests

Abstract

Under settled First Amendment doctrine, true threats and incitement to violence fall clearly outside the protection of the United States Constitution. However, the line between violent speech and protected political hyperbole is exceedingly blurry, especially in high-conflict protest environments. This study complements doctrinal analysis with an ethnographic field study of abortion clinic protests in the Southern United States to test assumptions about speech, harm, and political discourse. It recommends that courts modify the analytical frameworks for true threats and incitement to better capture the layers of social and historical context that create social and rhetorical meaning amid political conflict.