Should Taylor Lorenz and BLM leader be silenced for celebrating violence?

Standing up for the First Amendment is easy when you agree with the speech that’s being threatened. However, it’s standing up for free speech when you hate the words being spoken that really counts.

That’s the difficult position Glenn Beck is taking when it comes to the vile things uttered by ex-Washington Post journalist Taylor Lorenz and BLM co-founder Hawk Newsome. While he loathes the violence both have celebrated in the wake of recent events, he nonetheless supports their First Amendment rights.

Taylor Lorenz has come under fire for her comments following the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

While speaking to Piers Morgan, Lorenz said that she felt “joy” when she got the news of Thompson’s death.

When Piers pressed her on this heinous sentiment, she somewhat recanted it and replaced “joy” with the word “celebratory” — as if that was any better. She then justified her statement by claiming that “greedy health insurance executives like [Thompson] push policies of denying care to the most vulnerable people” and thus his death should be seen as “justice in the system.”

Newsome, angered by the acquittal of Daniel Penny, told a crowd, “We need some black vigilantes. People wanna jump up and choke us and kill us for being loud? How about we do the same when they attempt to oppress us?”

While Glenn is revolted by these two statements that unabashedly condone violence, he knows that they fall under speech that is protected by the Constitution.

He reads from a 1969 court case in which it was determined that speech must be evaluated according to a “two-prong” test: “Speech can be prohibited if it is directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action,” and it must be “likely to incite or produce such action.”

“Two standards — both of them have to be met,” says Glenn.

Neither statement meets both of these criteria, meaning that while they are reprehensible, they’re technically not illegal and therefore should be protected.

“I hate what these people have said,” Glenn admits, calling the statements from both Lorenz and Newsome “evil,” but “because I’m an American constitutionalist, I defend their right to say it.”

To hear more of Glenn’s analysis, watch the clip above.

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