Was the 45th President of the United States Stripped of His First Amendment Rights?

By Amelia Reynoso

The sad events of January 6, when the Capitol building of the United States was stormed by rioters, has brought up some interesting questions about safety in our nation’s capital. Also, it has brought up some questions about our First Amendment rights and the right of the President of the United States to speak on free speech platforms.

Donald Trump held a rally the same day as the riot took place. However, that rally turned into a march to the Capitol, which then turned into a riot in what is supposed to be one of the most secure buildings in the nation.

People from all over the country were involved, most of the participants were not even from the Washington D.C. area. Resulting from this criminal act, the President was banned from all modern social media. These include Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, even Google. His personal accounts were all removed from these mainstream apps. The thought of a President of the United States being banned so that he cannot speak to the nation is unheard of.

The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of speech. It has been one of, if not the most, controversial amendments to the Constitution. So, if the 45th president is not able to express his point of view, is not allowed to speak, then what hope is there for the rest of us? Maybe there was a good reason, maybe his words are so dangerous that there was no other way to contain him. Let us look at why his freedom of speech was taken from him so that we can make an informed decision.

On January 6, the day of the riot and also the day that the Electoral College votes were counted in the Capitol, many felt that the President enabled his supporters to keep on going and the riot. Many felt that Donald Trump was encouraging his supporters to keep on damaging the Capitol even as the events took place. The social media owners said that he was violating their proper use rules. However, there are millions of people who violate these rules all the time and people report them and nothing is ever done about it. A natural question would be why is the President of the United States being held to a higher standard than any other citizen of the United States and even others, even terrorists from around the world?

Many people do not like Donald Trump, that is why he lost the election, but his rights were violated. There must be some other way to allow speech of the President, without completely silencing him. Even though his supporters did a very bad thing and they are being punished, they are individuals, and they should think for themselves. Trump never said go to the Capitol and riot. They violated our nation and threatening the lives of Capital Police and even members of Congress. For that they will pay. The FBI has been tracking these people down and arresting them.

Donald Trump did hold the rally on January 6. However, he did not say anything different than he was saying throughout his presidency, so what makes this day different?

Another issue that has come to light recently is that the FBI has discovered that the weapons and even bombs were placed before the speech even started. How could Trump have incited a riot if they were planning it before he spoke. The riot also began before Trump was even done with his rally speech. How could he start a riot if he was not even done speaking. Many people like Trump, many people do not, but the question of the First Amendment is important for all of us, and it is more important than any one president.

To all the families affected by this riot, our respects go out to you, especially the officer who lost his life in the riot. When getting to the bottom of this riot, let us not forget that our rights are more important. The First Amendment is more important than any president, no matter how much you like that president or dislike him.