What’s more important, protecting the First Amendment, or silencing hate speech?
That’s the question many are asking online after a group of demonstrators carried the Confederate flag through one Virginia city.
The video, posted on Facebook on Monday, shows a group of people wearing masks, marching along the Virginia Beach oceanfront. They are holding several flags, including the U.S. Betsy Ross flag with 13 stars, the Confederate flag, and the Patriot Front flag.
Patriot Front is a white supremacist and neo-fascist hate group. They were formed in the aftermath of the 2017 Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally by Thomas Rousseau.
The group has not confirmed that it was their event.
Some people argued the group was celebrating the country’s 250th birthday by featuring the flags. No one was holding the American flag in the video.
Many people were shocked and confused after seeing the video online.
“What ICE agents do on their day off,” William Martin wrote on Facebook.
“I thought they hated masks,” Bill Brozen added.
“Traded the pointed caps for baseball caps, huh?” Jennifer Wooldridge wrote, referring to the Ku Klux Klan.
Hate speech is generally protected by the First Amendment.
According to the American Library Association, the government cannot criminalize or punish speech simply because it is offensive, hateful, or expresses bias.
However, this isn’t an absolute right. Speech can lose protection if it falls within certain categories of illegal harm.
This means it’s not a crime for the group to carry these flags; it’s what they do or say afterward that could land them behind bars. The same can be said for any demonstrator.
Atlanta Black Star spoke with Civil Rights leader and Attorney Gerald Griggs about the incident.
“Basically, it’s protected as long as it does not cross the threshold into an imminent threat,” Griggs said. “Sort of like yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theater, at that point, that is not protected speech.”
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Atlanta Black Star reached out to multiple Virginia state and local officials to get their opinion on whether this incident constitutes hate speech. They have yet to respond.
Griggs said they have a responsibility to issue a statement in light of the incident.
“When you are marching with symbols of hate and taking us back to a time when the country was intolerant, I think that’s when elected officials have to step in,” Griggs said.
Virginia Beach police released a statement Thursday to WAVY. They said the group was permitted to be there, adding that they were allowed to wear masks.
“In this recent case, the involved group would have been treated no differently that we have treated prior groups wearing masks, asserting their First Amendment rights, and engaging in political discourse within the City of Virginia Beach, which has been to monitor and ensure there is no risk to community safety.”
Police confirmed the protest remained peaceful despite the hateful rhetoric.
Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer told WAVY that he denounces everything the group stands for.
“First of all, I do not in anyway shape or form align my views with what they stand for,” Dyer said.
He added that other local leaders say the city should stay vigilant for any future marches like this one.
