BY THE TIME Arthur Terminiello arrived at Chicago’s West End Woman’s Club on a Thursday evening in February 1946, a hostile crowd that would swell to 1,000 or so protesters had already gathered outside the auditorium. They were outraged by the event at which Terminiello was scheduled to speak: a Christian Veterans of America meeting organized by the evangelist Gerald L.K. Smith, a flagrantly antisemitic populist and spectacularly unsuccessful presidential candidate who had founded the America First Party three years earlier.
Picketers blocked access to the building, repeatedly tried to force their way in, and castigated those who dared to enter, calling them “Nazis,” “Hitlers,” and “damned fascists.” An overmatched contingent of about 70 police officers escorted speakers and attendees into the building while vainly trying to maintain order. Angry protesters tore people’s clothing and hurled vegetables, rocks, bottles, and stench bombs, breaking more than two dozen windows and injuring three officers.
The riot resulted in 19 arrests, though most of the charges were later dismissed. One charge that stuck: Terminiello, a suspended Catholic priest from Alabama who was advertised as “the Father Coughlin of the South,” was charged with “breach of the peace”—a species of “disorderly conduct.” A municipal court jury convicted him of that offense two months later, and he was fined $100, equivalent to about $1,700 today. Terminiello, who argued that he was being punished for constitutionally protected speech, unsuccessfully challenged his conviction in the First District Appellate Court and the Illinois Supreme Court.
Esta historia es de la edición February 2025 de Reason magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 2025 de Reason magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Rise of the Samurai Lawyers
HOW A STABLE AND RELATIVELY JUST LEGAL ORDER EMERGED IN MEDIEVAL JAPAN
How Sanctions Backfire
IF THERE’S ONE part of foreign policy where President Donald Trump has been consistent, it’s economic sanctions on Iran.
How To Get Rid of a Tenured Professor
TOO OFTEN, POLITICAL ADVOCACY TRUMPS RESEARCH IN SCIENCE.
TRUMP'S DRAMATIC CROSSROADS
WILL PROTECTIONISM OR DYNAMISM SHAPE THE FUTURE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY?
AI Isn't Destabilizing Elections
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PESSIMISTS, take note: New research suggests that fears about AI tools destabilizing elections through political misinformation may be overblown.
Trump Tests the Limits of Executive Orders
WELL BEFORE PRESIDENT Donald Trump returned to office, his supporters boasted that he would start the second term with a flurry of executive actions.
The American Right Is Abandoning Mises
THE AUSTRIAN ECONOMIST’S PRINCIPLED THOUGHT ONCE SERVED AS A CHECK ON THE INTELLECTUAL RIGHT.
Trump's War on the Press
A MONTH BEFORE last November’s presidential election, 60 Minutes aired an interview with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris that was edited to make her response to a question about Israel “more succinct,” as the show’s producers put it.
WHEN THE GOVERNMENT PUTS WOLVES IN YOUR BACKYARD
ENDANGERED RED WOLVES BECAME A SYMBOL OF FEDERAL OVERREACH-AND A TARGET FOR LOCAL IRE-IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
Biden Rushed Billions Out Before Trump Took Office
ON PRESIDENT JOE Biden’s way out the door, officials in his administration were busy—not just packing up their offices, but shoveling as much money as possible before incoming President Donald Trump could get his hands on it.
