Zherka v. Amicone

WESLEY, Circuit Judge:

Under the law of this Circuit, the viability of a prima facie First Amendment retaliation claim depends on context. Private citizens alleging retaliation for their criticism of public officials must show that they engaged in protected speech, persons acting under color of state law took adverse action against them in retaliation for that speech, and the retaliation resulted in “actual chilling” of their exercise of their constitutional right to free speech. While in certain situations a showing of some other form of concrete harm may substitute for “actual chilling,” a…