Associate Dean Enrique Armijo spoke with WXII 12 News for a June 6, 2020, explanatory report about the constitutional protections afforded demonstrators, and the legal difference between speech and conduct.
An Elon Law scholar on the First Amendment spoke at length with a regional news station for a report on the constitutional protections enjoyed by protesters in the United States demonstrating in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and pushing for police reform.
Associate Dean Enrique Armijo was interviewed for his expertise on when police are able to enforce certain restrictions. Armijo emphasized that the distinction often comes down to the difference between speech and conduct.
“There’s no First Amendment right, for example, to stop traffic or close down a highway,” Armijo told WXII reporter Lee Anne Denyer. “Those are things that the government can and often does – often excessively – takes action to prevent.”
Read and watch the full report: “Elon law professor explains first amendment protections for protesters”
In addition to his administrative roles at Elon Law, Armijo is an Affiliate Fellow of the Yale Law School Information Society Project. He teaches and researches in the areas of the First Amendment, constitutional law, torts, administrative law, media and internet law, and international freedom of expression.
Armijo’s current scholarship addresses the interaction between new technologies and free speech.