What The First Amendment Actually Protects
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The 1st amendment is about protecting people from government censorship, not giving anyone a free pass to say whatever they want without consequences. Your boss can fire you, a platform can deplatform you, a broadcaster can pull your show, and it’s not a violation of the Constitution.
But what’s happening to Jimmy Kimmel is different.
Jimmy Kimmel used his First Amendment rights to criticize trump and Charlie Kirk. Under the law, Sinclair could choose to drop his show. But that’s not what’s happening. trump & his allies have pressured Sinclair to demand a public apology and even a donation to Kirk's far-right group. That’s government power being used to punish speech, which is a First Amendment violation.
The First Amendment does not protect you from losing your job or being deplatformed over your words.
It does not cover threats, harassment, defamation, or incitement. Hey, Charlie.
It does protect you from the government using its power to silence you. And that’s what’s happening when trump leans on broadcasters to punish critics. (Stanford guide)
This is the authoritarian two-step. One, weaponize “free speech” as a shield for hate, then, two, turn around and crush dissent when it challenges their power. Jimmy Kimmel isn’t just being punished by a network. He’s being silenced under trump’s orders. That's cold, hard dictatorship walking in through the front door.
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The First Amendment doesn’t mean “say anything without consequences.” It means the government can’t punish you for dissent. and right now, trump is shredding that protection.
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