{"id":7169,"date":"2026-01-22T14:21:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T14:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/?page_id=7169"},"modified":"2026-01-22T17:41:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T17:41:15","slug":"assembly-petition","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/assembly-petition\/","title":{"rendered":"Assembly & Petition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Freedom of assembly and freedom of petition<\/strong> — two of the six major freedoms in the First Amendment — have not received the attention they are due in most Media Law and Ethics classes.<\/p>\n

However, US history is filled with freedom of assembly and petition controversies, including the labor movement, the Civil Rights movement, and\u00a0 women’s rights movements. These movements fought for legitimacy against state and federal government fears of losing the ability to maintain order.\u00a0 Limits on freedom of assembly were challenged by cases like De Jonge v. Oregon (1937) which\u00a0 expanded state protections; debates over hate speech, such as the 1977\u00a0 Skokie, Ill. march; and widespread civil rights and campus protests dating from the 1950s.<\/p>\n

The Minnesota protests of 2026<\/strong> —\u00a0 First Amendment Freedom of Assembly claims surfaced in a lawsuit by Minnesota and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul against U.S. Department of Homeland Security<\/a>. The suit, which comes after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, argues several violations of law, including the First Amendment.\u00a0 Freedom Forum\u2019s Scott A. Leadingham\u00a0 explains the cities’ lawsuit \u00a0in this analysis.<\/p>\n