Reason Magazine
•US Politics
US Politics
James Comey's deleted Instagram post is obviously protected by the First Amendment
59% Informative
Former FBI Director James Comey posted a picture of seashells spelling out " 86 47 " on Instagram .
"We've now 86'd [former House Speaker Kevin] McCarthy ," former Rep. Matt Gaetz posted on X in 2024 .
" 86 -ing someone most commonly means "to eject, dismiss, or remove (someone) from a menu," Merriam-Webster says.
The calls for his arrest and prosecution would be ludicrous, but that speech is protected by the First Amendment .
"Imagine saying 20 years ago 'I hope Bin Laden is killed,'" said Conor Fitzpatrick , an attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression , a nonprofit dedicated to civil liberties.
VR Score
63
Informative language
61
Neutral language
29
Article tone
semi-formal
Language
English
Language complexity
49
Offensive language
likely offensive
Hate speech
not hateful
Attention-grabbing headline
not detected
Known propaganda techniques
detected
Time-value
short-lived
External references
10
Source diversity
4