Trump’s illegal protests: What is an illegal protest, anyway?

Donald Trump — who famously dodged the draft, incited a mob to overturn an election, and was impeached twice (a first for any U.S. president) — is now lecturing America about what’s “illegal.” In a recent Truth Social post, Trump declared that “all federal funding will STOP for any College, School or University that allows illegal protests.”

He doubled down on this by threatening harsh consequences for participants, including expelling American students, deporting international students, and even jailing “agitators.”

Trump’s statement echoes executive orders he issued during his presidency, including one on January 29 targeting pro-Palestinian student activism. He labeled these protests as “antisemitic,” conflating criticism of Israel with hatred of Jewish people — a convenient way to dismiss any political dissent he finds inconvenient. The executive order, “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism,” even instructed officials to monitor international students and staff for “subversive activities.” 

Let’s be real — this isn’t about law and order. Labeling protests as “illegal” without specifying what exactly makes them so allows Trump to casually criminalize dissent he dislikes.

What even is an ‘Illegal Protest’?

Trump uses the term as if it were self-explanatory, but it’s as vague and slippery as his tax returns. Legally speaking, a protest isn’t “illegal” just because it’s inconvenient, loud, or even disruptive. In fact, under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Americans have the right to free speech, assembly, and petitioning the government.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you can protest anywhere, anytime, blocking traffic or setting bonfires on the White House lawn. The Supreme Court has clarified over decades that the government can impose reasonable restrictions on protests, known legally as “time, place, and manner” regulations. These regulations must be content-neutral, narrowly tailored, and leave open ample alternative channels for expression (Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 1989). In simple terms, the government can reasonably ask you not to shout slogans outside a hospital at midnight — but it absolutely cannot forbid protests simply because it dislikes your message or finds it politically inconvenient. That is literally what the First Amendment exists to protect.

Specifically, it states clearly and simply: 

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Furthermore, any limitations on protests must apply equally to all viewpoints. For example, if a university bans pro-Palestinian protests but allows pro-Israel rallies, that’s a clear violation of the First Amendment. International students in the U.S., like all people within its borders, have constitutional protections as well.

Trump’s January executive order, which explicitly calls for deporting foreign students who protest is blatantly unconstitutional. It violates equal protection principles under the Fourteenth Amendment, which asserts that all persons — yes, “persons,” not just “citizens”— within the jurisdiction of the United States have basic constitutional rights. So, contrary to Trump’s authoritarian fantasies, a student visa doesn’t come with a muzzle attached. Sorry, Donald.