Taking part
civil disobedience
Deliberately breaking a law to protest it, openly and accepting the legal consequences. Protected as expression only up to the point of the violation itself.
In full
The First Amendment protects advocating for a change in the law; it does not exempt anyone from a generally applicable law they break while doing so. The tradition, from the abolitionists through the civil rights movement, treats accepting arrest as part of the argument. Courts have consistently declined to recognize a necessity or protest defense for it.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.