YouTube hides The Atlantic's coverage of "Heil Trump" salutes at Nazi speech

[strokeybeard]

@gracchus

Not from what I saw. There is a recognition that of late the law tends to give right-wingers the benefit of the doubt (e.g. cops sympathising with the white supremacists) but when I brought up the idea of Spencer filing assault charges in that thread no-one objected.

True, but I think we’re also reading the thread differently in terms of the consensus.

And no, the assailant’s defense would likely not position vigilantism as a form of civil disobedience. It would raise questions about the defendant responding to “fighting words” as a mitigating factor (probably during sentencing) – questions which Spencer and his fellow scumbags would prefer not be raised lest they lose access to their mainstream public platforms.

I was thinking in terms of an ethical defence, rather than a legal one, but it’s a good point.