(Sept. 17, 2025): Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) sounds off on the truth about free speech in the days following Charlie Kirk’s tragic death on a college campus.

SLF explains that many people have taken to the streets and the public squares to celebrate Kirk’s assassination. Although hate speech is protected under the First Amendment, many of these speakers are inciting and calling for violence, which courts have never protected as free speech. “Saying that you don’t agree with somebody…is very different than saying a comment about how somebody should support somebody’s death.”

Another common misconception is that private employers can’t take action if they disagree with their employees’ speech; in fact, “they can take every single action that they possibly want to.”

SLF urges Americans to engage in civil discourse with one another to resolve their differences. Disagreement is protected and welcomed by the First Amendment, but it crosses a line when it becomes “disgusting” attempts to incite violence, threaten others, or even celebrate the death of a fellow American.

SLF predicts that we will see an increase in court cases as questions emerge about what it means to incite others to violence. “We are a country of the rule of law. We have a First Amendment, we ought to be using it[.]” The courts will have to answer those “hard questions,” which will likely work their way up to the Supreme Court. SLF vows to stand by the Constitution and freedom of speech along the way.

Watch the full interview at NTD.com.