The question of if "some speech isn't worth defending" is dividing members of the American Civil Liberties Union after protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, left one person dead earlier this month, The Associated Press writes. "I won't be a fig leaf for Nazis," tweeted one board member of the ACLU's Virginia branch after resigning:
The ACLU controversially helped convince a judge to allow the march in Charlottesville, which was attended by neo-Nazis, neo-Confederates, and white supremacist groups. Virginia's governor, Terry McAuliffe (D), blamed the ACLU for creating a "powder keg" in the city.
Others in the organization have doubled down on the ACLU's longstanding values, AP reports. "If you can't stomach respecting the First Amendment rights of people you despise, you don't work here," said an ACLU associate director, Stacy Sullivan.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In the days just before the Charlottesville march, the ACLU had also controversially sued the Washington, D.C., transit system on behalf of a number of groups and individuals, including alt-right personality Milo Yiannopoulos. "We did not take this decision lightly. We understand the pain caused by Mr. Yiannopoulos' views," the ACLU wrote at the time. "We also understand the principles we seek to defend … that government can't censor our speech just because it doesn't like what we say."
-
Will Japan’s first female prime minister defy sumo’s ban on women?Under the Radar Sanae Takaichi must decide whether to break with centuries of tradition and step into the ring to present the trophy
-
Political cartoons for November 16Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include presidential pardons, the Lincoln penny, and more
-
The vast horizons of the Puna de AtacamaThe Week Recommends The ‘dramatic and surreal’ landscape features volcanoes, fumaroles and salt flats
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
