For American Extremists, it’s a Thin Line Between Freedom of Expression and Hate Speech

(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images) F.B.I. investigators examining a bullet-riddled door at the entrance of the Holocaust Memorial Museum, where a gunman entered the building and shot and killed a security guard.

June 11, 2009, 12:29 pm The New York Times Online OPINION section

Hate Crimes and Extremist Politics

By The Editors

Updated, June 11, 2:30 p.m. | The 88-year-old white supremacist, James von Brunn, has been charged with murder in the killing the security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday.

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The killing of George Tiller, the abortion doctor in Wichita, Kan., and the attack on the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington yesterday have raised questions yet again about the role that extremist propaganda sites play in inciting violence among some militant believers. In both cases, the suspect arrested was well-known among fringe “communities” on the Web.

Most legal scholars and many experts on extremist violence in the U.S. oppose reining in of such sites, or restrictions on extremist speech generally. Should the United States consider tighter restrictions on hate speech? In the meantime, how should law enforcement agencies respond?

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