sedition

Proud Boys' Convictions for Seditious Conspiracy Won't End the Far Right Threat

by Tom Mockaitis

Despite the conviction of leading organizers of the January 6 attack on the Capitol (which aimed at overturning Joe Biden's election), the extreme right will remain a threat, partly because of the flourishing of online channels for hate and partly because the Republican Party has framed the insurrection as legitimate political expression. 

"Ultra" Podcast Tells the Story of an Attempted Far-Right Subversion of the US

"Ultra is the all-but-forgotten true story of good, old-fashioned American extremism getting supercharged by proximity to power."

On the Illogic of War

by Don Fraser

The logic of war rejects dissent and the moderating influence of political concerns in the pursuit of destruction, and liberal democracies aren't exempt. 

Prosecuting Sedition in a Divided Nation is a Challenge as Old as America

by William H. Pruden III

America's cultural value on free expression makes conviction of far-right radicals on sedition charges unlikely. The Ft. Smith, Arkansas trial in 1988 was a PR victory for the far right when 14 defendants accused of plotting against the government were acquitted. 

Did Trump and His Supporters Commit Treason?

Carlton F.W. Larson has studied the legal history of treason. Until January 6, he argued that critics of Donald Trump were off base in leveling that charge. 

Impeach Trump, But Not for What He Said on January 6th

by Jonathan Zimmerman

There's ample justification for Trump's second impeachment in his pattern of disregard for democracy and efforts to subvert the vote count. But reviving the charge of incitment of insurrection opens the door to ideological prosecution and the suppression of free speech. 

Reviving Sedition Prosecutions Would Be a Tragic Mistake

by David Beito

A libertarian historian argues that the use of sedition law to charge participants in the Capitol riots would revive a dangerous pattern of prosecuting ideology instead of action, one which those on the left should also treat with suspicion. 

Our First Authoritarian Crackdown (Review)

by Brenda Wineapple

Wendell Bird argues that the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 were used more broadly than historians have recognized, and reflect a shakier foundation of free speech in the early Republic. 

When “Fake News” Was Banned: An America Trump Might Have Loved

by Adam Hochschild

Exactly 100 years ago, this country’s media was laboring under the kind of official censorship that would undoubtedly thrill both Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo.

"Sedition": A Complicated History

Joanne Freeman, Annette Gordon-Reed, Manisha Sinha and Gregory Downs offer insight into the history of the term "sedition," the relationship between speech and deed, and the specific context of white supremacy that has accompanied discussions of sedition since the overthrow of reconstruction.