Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito warned Saturday that support for free speech is “dangerously declining,” especially on college campuses, as part of a commencement address he gave at Franciscan University of Steubenville, a Catholic college in Ohio.
His remarks appeared to reference unrest on several university campuses across the country resulting from protests against Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
“Right now, in the world outside this beautiful campus, troubled waters are crashing against some of our most fundamental principles,” Alito said.
“Support for free speech is declining dangerously,” he added, especially on college campuses, where the exchange of ideas should be more protected.
“Few colleges live up to that ideal. This place is one of them…but things aren’t like that in the world at large,” Alito said.
While Alito’s support for free speech has limits – he was a notable sole dissident when the Supreme Court in 2011 ruled 8-1 that members of the conservative Westboro Baptist Church had the right to free speech to picket the funeral of a military veteran.
“Our deep national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the violent verbal attack that occurred in this case,” he wrote in dissent.
Alito, who is Catholic, has frequently sounded the alarm about the attack on religious freedom and has frequently voted in favor of expanding religious rights.
“Religious freedom is also in danger,” he told the graduates. “When you venture out into the world, you may very well find yourself in a job, community, or social setting where you will be pressured to endorse ideas you do not believe in or to abandon fundamental beliefs. to stand firm.”
The Supreme Court is expected in the coming weeks to issue important rulings on a range of contentious issues, including abortion, gun rights and whether former President Donald Trump is immune from lawsuits over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Alito, the author of the 2022 decision that overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade is one of several judges who make public appearances as the court prepares its decisions.
On Friday, fellow conservative Justice Clarence Thomas condemned the “evil and lies” he faced while speaking at a judicial conference in Alabama.
He and his wife, conservative political activist Ginni Thomas, have been in the spotlight in recent years. He was accused of not following ethics rules, while she was criticized for supporting Trump’s effort to challenge the election results.
At another judicial conference in Texas, conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh said Friday that Supreme Court rulings that are unpopular when issued could later become part of the “fabric of American constitutional law.”
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