"Three Myths about Free Speech" by Jacob Mchangama - FIRE Student Network Summer Conference 2018

ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel hours after FCC Chair Brendan Carr suggested they could face consequences for remarks Kimmel made in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder.

Jimmy Kimmel wasn’t canceled by a mob — he was silenced after FCC pressure. Critics say we’re inconsistent, but we’ve opposed jawboning and cancel culture for years. This case is no different.

In the wake of political violence, calls to criminalize rhetoric are growing louder. But Brandenburg v. Ohio set the bar — and it’s a high one.

RICO was meant to take down mob bosses — not protesters with megaphones. When officials try to twist racketeering laws into a cudgel against dissent, they don’t just misapply the law; they chill speech at the core of democracy.