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Does the First Amendment Protect Anti-Sharia, Pro-Trump Demonstrations in Portland?

In the wake of the slaying of two men on a Portland, Oregon, metro train as they tried to defend a pair of women from a man’s anti-Muslim slurs, the city’s mayor is catching heat for pushing to cancel two demonstrations planned by a so-called "alt-right" group with which the accused killer identifies.

While Mayor Ted Wheeler has said that “hate speech is not protected” under the First Amendment, legal experts were quick to respond that the Constitution protects “all speech no matter how ugly it may be.”

As NBC News reports, groups have scheduled a "Trump Free Speech Rally" on June 4. A "March against Sharia" had been scheduled for June 10, but organizers have said they decided to cancel and relocate the event to Seattle. Wheeler did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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