When protests become risk

(JNS) — The question of how a democratic society balances free expression with public safety becomes especially urgent when protests begin to escalate. The landmark National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie case (1977) is often cited as a defining moment in which the United States reaffirmed its commitment to protecting even deeply offensive speech.

The concern behind that protection was that the government should not be trusted to decide too easily which movements are legitimate and which are hateful. For that reason, the law generally gives different groups the same starting p...