It was bound to happen sooner or later – somebody realized that exercising free speech in this country can get you arrested.
Two local attorneys and the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday morning to stop nightly arrests of Occupy Nashville protesters on grounds that the state is violating their First Amendment rights…
“Here, the government has sought impermissibly to prohibit the political speech at issue rather than enforcing the criminal law,” the motion for a temporary restraining order states.
On various levels, this crushing of unpopular speech is being repeated all over the country. Some are already comparing the OWS to the Free Speech Movement of the 60’s.
However, I think the current battle over the right of free speech more resembles a forgotten legacy in American history from a century ago. When leftists with unpopular political ideas willingly allowed themselves to be arrested in the defense of freedom.