No One Is Violating Donald Trump’s First Amendment Rights

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/03/12/3759418/no-one-is-violating-trump-free-speech/
"Not only does this argument belie the foundation of the First Amendment — it protects the right to free speech; it does not protect you from protest and criticism — but it also wholly dismisses the role of Trump’s incendiary rhetoric toward protesters at his events in fostering the chaotic scene in Chicago. What’s more, if the goal is to silence Trump, this small effort on behalf of protesters to make their voices heard could hardly counteract the millions of dollars in free air time he’s been given dating back to last year. The level of violence at Trump campaign events has only escalated over the past several months. Earlier this week, a young African American protester, Rakeem Jones, was sucker-punched at a Trump rally in North Carolina by an older white man. At the time, only Jones was restrained and removed from the venue; the other man was later charged with assault. A young black woman was attacked and shoved during a Trump rally in Kentucky earlier this month. A Puerto Rican teenager was roughed up at a Trump rally in Georgia last month. Rather than seek to quell this disturbing trend, Trump has fueled it. At a press conference earlier in the day on Friday, he called the assault of protesters like Jones “very, very appropriate.” During Thursday night’s Republican debate, Trump defended his supporters and their “tremendous passion,” attributing their anger to “bad trade deals, higher taxes, loss of their jobs.” Trump has encouraged his supporters to “knock the crap out of” protesters, offering to pay their legal fees. “I’d like to punch him in the face, I’ll tell you that,” he said of a protester being removed from a rally last month, much to the delight of the crowd."