The Right to Protest is Under Attack

Throughout history, protest has been one of the most powerful tools for ordinary people to challenge injustice, demand accountability, and push for social change. From civil rights marches to climate strikes, protest is a fundamental part of a healthy democracy. But across the United States and around the world, the right to protest is increasingly under attack.

Silencing dissent isn’t just undemocratic — it’s dangerous. A society that can’t tolerate protest is a society that fears change, and that’s a sign of deeper injustice at work.

Protest: The Backbone of Social Progress

The right to protest is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, yet every major social movement — from abolition and women’s suffrage to labor rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and Black Lives Matter — has faced repression. Authorities have always labeled protesters as "agitators," "threats," or "criminals" whenever people dared to speak truth to power.

But without protest, there would be no civil rights laws, no minimum wage, no environmental protections, no marriage equality, and no path forward for countless marginalized communities.

Modern Protest, Modern Suppression

In recent years, the crackdown on protest has escalated. Dozens of states have passed or proposed laws to limit public demonstrations. These new measures often:

• Increase penalties for blocking roads or public spaces.
• Shield drivers who hit protesters from civil liability.
• Allow state intervention to suppress protests deemed “unlawful assemblies.”
• Target specific movements like Indigenous land defenders or racial justice organizers.

These laws aren’t designed for safety — they’re designed for silence.

Who’s Most Impacted?

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Who’s Most Impacted?

Anti-protest legislation is rarely neutral — it often targets the exact movements that challenge corporate and state power most directly. In recent years, state governments have introduced or passed laws designed to suppress specific forms of activism, especially Indigenous land defense and racial justice protests.

For example, after Indigenous-led protests at Standing Rock challenged the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016, states like North Dakota, South Dakota, and Oklahoma passed laws increasing penalties for trespassing on “critical infrastructure” — a term broadly applied to pipelines and energy facilities. These laws were lobbied for by fossil fuel interests, and critics have argued they criminalize peaceful resistance to projects that threaten Indigenous lands, water, and treaty rights.

Similarly, after the 2020 Black Lives Matter uprisings, several states introduced or strengthened laws aimed at penalizing protest tactics commonly used in racial justice demonstrations. Florida’s HB1, signed into law in 2021, expanded the definition of “riot” and gave broad discretion to law enforcement, increasing the risk of peaceful demonstrators facing felony charges. The law also offered protections to drivers who injure protesters blocking roads — a direct response to tactics used during BLM marches.

These laws weren’t created to address public safety. They were designed to silence people standing up to systemic racism, environmental destruction, and corporate greed.

The message is clear: When you challenge injustice, power will try to shut you down.

A Threat to Democracy

Protest is more than a right; it’s a necessity. Democracies thrive on debate, challenge, and dissent. When governments criminalize protest, they’re not protecting peace — they’re protecting the status quo. And usually, the status quo is injustice.

The right to protest ensures that voices outside the halls of power still matter. When protest is under attack, democracy itself is under attack.

The Path Forward

Defending the right to protest means:

• Resisting anti-protest legislation at the local, state, and federal level.
• Protecting journalists, legal observers, and medics at demonstrations.
• Supporting organizations that fight for civil liberties and free expression.
• Refusing to let protest be dismissed as “disorder” when it is, in fact, democracy at work.

We owe every right we have to people who once took to the streets and refused to be silent. The least we can do is defend that same right for future generations.