Can Speech be Allowed Until the Offended Party Objects? (The Heckler's Veto)
A Hecker's veto is when the party offended can ask a city or county to silence the opponents. This seems absurd but what about when the speech is highly offensive so that "normal" people would be highly offended. Even in this situation, the 1st Amendment protects speech. The "heckler's veto" is the principle.
A "heckler's veto" occurs when the state suppresses speech due to the threat or possibility of a hostile or violent response from the audience, effectively allowing the audience's potential reaction to silence the speaker (Kessler v. City of Charlottesville, 441 F.Supp.3d 277 (2020)).
This concept has been discussed in various legal contexts as an impermissible content-based restriction on speech, where the government silences specific speech or speakers in anticipation of a disorderly or violent response from the audience (Startzell v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 533 F.3d 183 (2008))
This type of veto is generally considered unconstitutional under the First Amendment because it is a form of content discrimination (Startzell v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 533 F.3d 183 (2008))[2], (Meinecke v. City of Seattle, 99 F.4th 514 (2024))[3].
The term "heckler's veto" is used to describe situations where speech is restricted not because of the content of the speech itself but because of the anticipated negative reactions (such as violence or disorder) from those opposed to the speech. The Supreme Court and various courts have affirmed that constitutional rights, including free speech, cannot be denied simply because of hostility towards the expression of those rights (Bible Believers v. Wayne County, Mich., 805 F.3d 228 (2015))