Source: Yascha Mounk
by Yascha Mounk
“Defenders of free speech often worry about the heckler’s veto. Some protestors believe that the First Amendment gives them the right to disrupt the speech of those they do not like. But this is a misunderstanding of the logic of free expression. For if hecklers had the right to disrupt any speech, they would quickly come to be in control of what can and cannot be said. While everyone must be free to peacefully protest forms of expression they do not like, they do not have the right to stop such speech from taking place. I share those concerns over the heckler’s veto. But the danger which now faces the American Republic is deeper still. As violence descends on the land, and the price of engaging in political speech grows and grows, we are increasingly faced with something even scarier, both for the individual and for our political culture: the assassin’s veto.” (09/10/25)