I've been told,"You cannot yell fire in a crowded movie theater" Against the law. Did Trump do

[Stuart G]

that a year ago on January the 6th?...If he did, then what he did was illegal, if the comparison matches the
fire in movie theater idea. That will be up to a jury, but does anyone have thoughts on this? I think Trump
purposely started a riot for his own good. For himself, and I also think he enjoyed watching it on TV.

[elleng]

1. "Shouting fire in a crowded theater" is a popular analogy for speech or actions made

for the principal purpose of creating panic. The phrase is a paraphrasing of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.'s opinion in the United States Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States in 1919, which held that the defendant's speech in opposition to the draft during World War I was not protected free speech under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The case was later partially overturned by Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969, which limited the scope of banned speech to that which would be directed to and likely to incite imminent lawless action (e.g. a riot).[1]

The paraphrasing differs from Holmes's original wording in that it typically does not include the word falsely, while also adding the word "crowded" to describe the theatre.[2] The original wording used in Holmes's opinion ("falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic&quot highlights that speech that is dangerous and false is not protected, as opposed to speech that is dangerous but also true.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_theater

[BComplex]

8. Thank you for that, elleng. I had never really seen the actual wording, nor the context.

It makes what trump did a little more difficult to nail down.

[stopdiggin]

10. thanks. yes, many have no idea

that the original phrasing was taken from a ruling that was egregiously wrong, and later overturned.

[dchill]

2. I have never thought anything else.

[brooklynite]

3. He didn't....

Too many people leap to "we know what he meant". But that's not a legal argument. His specific statement at the end of the speech was:

"So we're going to, we're going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. I love Pennsylvania Avenue. And we're going to the Capitol, and we're going to try and give.

The Democrats are hopeless — they never vote for anything. Not even one vote. But we're going to try and give our Republicans, the weak ones because the strong ones don't need any of our help. We're going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country."

[stopdiggin]

12. +1

As noxious as I believe both things to be - it's my belief they will have to find something beyond the rally and that speech to pin on 45.

[Ocelot II]

4. It's not illegal to yell fire in a crowded theater if there really is a fire.

In Brandenburg v. Ohio, the Supreme Court held that "the constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not permit a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or of law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action [e.g., a riot] and is likely to incite or produce such action." The phrase "shouting fire in a crowded theater" has become synonymous with speech that, because of its danger of provoking violence, is not protected by the First Amendment.

[Hoyt]

5. The "can't yell fire" is used in the context of "freedom of speech."

In trump’s case, I have no doubt trump’s lies and yelling “fight for freedom,” etc., caused the rubes to storm the Capitol.

However, I don’t think a jury will convict him unless there is evidence he was directly involved in directing groups of rubes to attack from the West, East, etc.

[Ocelot II]

6. If he ever goes down for anything it will probably be tax evasion, like Al Capone.

But I don't much care why he winds up in the slammer as long as he does.

[Hoyt]

7. Definitely agree. Would be nice to wake up everyday knowing he's in jail.

[Mr.Bill]

9. I once read about or saw a film of William F. Buckley

debating Abbie Hoffman in a theater. Buckley asked Hoffman if freedom of speach allowed him to yell fire in a crowded theater like the one they were in.

Hoffman replied "FIRE!"

[Brainfodder]

11. Drop in the bucket crime for Waddle Dump?