Youth who wish to participate in protest activities should be aware of their rights and responsibilities when engaging in civil disobedience.
Various provisions of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protect our freedom of speech, our right to assembly peaceably, and our right to petition government for change.
The First Amendment also protects our right to join others to collectively share a message or protest. The First Amendment, however, does not protect a few narrow categories of expression. The First Amendment does not protect "incitement," which means speech intended and likely to cause imminent law-breaking. For example, the First Amendment does not protect a speaker who urges an angry crowd to immediately attack someone or destroy their property. The First Amendment does not protect "true threats" directed against a particular person who would reasonably perceive in their message a danger of violence.
Learn what your rights are as a protestor.
