Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday called for Minneapolis to “set up a peaceful protest zone so that these individuals can exercise their First Amendment rights and do so peacefully.” Since 9/11, “free speech zones” have been one of the biggest constitutional shams around. Both major political parties have used “free speech zone” restrictions to seek to silence dissent. As I wrote in 2004 in The Baltimore Sun, the Democratic National Convention that year was downright bizarre: "In Boston, police and convention organizers aimed to restrict protesters to a large...














