Violent environmental activism is increasingly being rationalized by fractivists and others bent on imposing their will but that’s not the First Amendment.

Everybody agrees that the First Amendment guarantees our freedom of speech and “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” But there is a growing movement among environmental extremists and their apologists to redefine just how violent protesters can be and still be protected by the First Amendment.

For example, Huffington Post recently argued that federal and state efforts to rein in violent environmental activism—such as operations that damage pipelines and other critical infrastructure—are actually designed to “criminalize fossil fuel protest.”

Read more:

http://naturalgasnow.org/first-amendment-doesnt-protect-violent-environmental-activism/