First Amendment: Federal courts poised to weigh in on Trump campaign protest problem

President Donald Trump argues that people at his rallies have no right to protest or voice their disapproval and can be forcibly removed from the venue for trying. Trump pays for his post-election rallies with funds from his 2020 re-election fund thus making them more exclusive. At a April 29 rally in Harrisburg Pennsylvania, Trump ordered security guards to remove protesters waving Russian flags. Trump lawyers say he has a First Amendment right to exclude protesters and to remove them by force when necessary. But Jesse Choper, a UC Berkeley law professor sees little distinction between official presidential appearances and campaign rallies. He thinks protesters can’t be allow to shout down the president but can hold up Russian flags as long they act peacefully.  (San Francisco Chronicle, May 7, 2017, by Bob Egelko)

Colin Daileda, Mashable, March 13, 2016, wrote during last year’s presidential campaign that it is illegal to protest during a Trump rally given a 2012 federal law making it a crime to “disrupt the orderly conduct of government business or official functions” when the Secret Service is providing protection. He can also charge protesters with trespass if they walk into a rally knowing it is a restricted area.

A federal district court in Kentucky is considering the campaign protest issue as a protester is suing a white nationalist for assault during a Trump rally in 2016. Trump and his campaign are co-defendants.  Legal precedent seems to support Trump’s position, but it is possible that a federal court could take a long look at the President’s many statements encouraging supporters to use physical violence in dealing with protesters and decide that he has created an atmosphere conducive to violence. (Think Progress, April 21, 2017, by Alan Pyke)