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Throughline · Jun 11, 2026

The shifting line between free speech and a criminal threat

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Threats against public officials have become much, much more common. This includes everyone from the president of the United States to members of Congress, to state and local officials, and even civil servants like local librarians. Threats have always been a part of United States history, often manifesting in times of political turmoil or cultural tension. The internet age opened a new chapter in…

Threats against public officials have become much, much more common. This includes everyone from the president of the United States to members of Congress, to state and local officials, and even civil servants like local librarians. Threats have always been a part of United States history, often manifesting in times of political turmoil or cultural tension. The internet age opened a new chapter in the U.S. making threats easier to make and harder to trace and prosecute. So what exactly is the standard for defining a criminal threat? How has it changed? And how do we balance safety and free speech in a world where the two seem increasingly at odds? On this episode of Throughline, the shifting line between protected speech and true threats.

Guests:

David L. Hudson, Jr., associate professor of Law at Belmont University Law School and First Amendment fellow for the Freedom Forum

Mary Anne Franks, professor at The George Washington Law School, and author of Fearless Speech and The Cult of the Constitution

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