A terrible decision on free speech came down from the U.S. Supreme Court today in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project --- the case I dug into with a set of brilliant journalists and legal minds as part of the fellowship program of Peter Jennings Center for Journalists and the Constitution. Both free speech and creative nonviolence take
a big hit on this 6-3 decision (with Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Ginsberg coming through with a passionate dissent).
I am just plain astonished at what has unfolded.
The gist? Our Supreme Court had decided that if a nonprofit trains an organization designated as "terrorist" on nonviolent ways to pursue its goals, then the nonprofit is guilty of aiding terrorists by providing them with "material support." Ostensibly, peace-making activities and education allow terrorist groups to divert their resources to inciting more terror. The objection to nonviolent training is also because it adds legitimacy to groups that are, by definition of being on the U.S. terrorist list, illegitimate. Should human rights activists attempt any peaceful activities with these organizations, they can be prosecuted.
The impact on the nonviolence movement is obvious. Less apparent, but still real, is how this decision impacts free speech, including the speech of journalists. By not allowing organizations to talk to terrorist groups, the Court is limiting the free speech of its citizens, even when that speech is explicitly peaceful and intended to diffuse violence. Indeed, such speech is now criminalized. Given the vague standard against providing "material support" that is upheld here, journalists that report on terrorist groups can be in legal trouble for what they publish, as well as for meeting with and interviewing members of the groups who serve as sources. This is not an out-there possibility: the New York Times indicates that the F.B.I. "has questioned people it suspected as being sources for a (Times) article about terrorism, and threatened to arrest them for providing material support."
You can access the full text of the decision in
PDF form here.
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