United States v. Ashley Richards

HIGGINSON, Circuit Judge.

The First Amendment restrains government to “make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech.” U.S. Const, amend. I. Speech, as expression, “arcs toward the place where meaning may lie,” 1 and when that meaning is hurtful or dislikable— meaningful, perhaps, to the bigot, or the flag burner — courts must be vigilant to affirm First Amendment protection. See Snyder v. Phelps, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 1207, 1219, 179 L.Ed.2d 172 (2011); Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397, 404-405, 109 S.Ct. 2533, 105 L.Ed.2d 342 (1989). Yet when hurtful expression involves violence, 2 and…