For a guy who prides himself on being a constitutional lawyer, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) seems very unfamiliar with the First Amendment.
That became apparent Thursday after Simon & Schuster announced it was canceling the publication of Hawley’s book about big tech because of his role in Wednesday’s violent mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The publisher said it had dropped plans to publish “The Tyranny of Big Tech,” saying it cannot support the senator’s role “in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom.”
Hawley, the former attorney general of Missouri, condemned the cancellation of his book deal as “a direct assault on the 1st Amendment” and vowed to take the publisher to court.
My statement on the woke mob at @simonschuster pic.twitter.com/pDxtZvz5J0
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 7, 2021
But while Hawley has an extensive legal background, many Twitter users pointed out that his angry, spiteful tweet suggested he had little understanding about the First Amendment, which applies to restrictions by the government, not from private businesses.
So by Hawley’s logic, anyone who doesn’t get a book published by Simon and Shuster is having their 1st Amendment rights infringed upon. I wish I knew this when I was shopping my book. https://t.co/nQjmpwIixN
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) January 8, 2021
Senator who says private business should be able to whatever the fuck they to whoever the fuck they want without regulation...
— Shannon in Ohio 4 (@ShannonFreshour) January 8, 2021
has sad feels when private business does whatever the fuck they want to him
cry me a fucking river https://t.co/KzeeiWg0Hc
You're a dope. If I helped incite an insurrection my book publisher would drop me, too, and I would have deserved it. https://t.co/9QNe6L4N4M
— Wes McKinney (@wesmckinn) January 8, 2021
it is a violation of my First Amendment that publishers will not publish my book, @JoshuaKarp: An Investigation https://t.co/Y2uJ8YNhdR
— Max Steele (@maxasteele) January 8, 2021
You should explore the whole first amendment thing. You might find it fascinating, especially the part where the government can't restrict free speech, but a private company can do whatever they want to your traitor ass.
— Peter Shankman (@petershankman) January 8, 2021
— Jonah Falcon (@JonahFalcon) January 8, 2021
The First Amendment doesn't force businesses to give you a platform or pay you for your words. https://t.co/qHWtmEQEI1
— Doha Madani (@DohaMadani) January 8, 2021
Have you heard of starting your own blog? Should clear up your "first ammendment" concerns. Unless of course it's really about the money. https://t.co/VSbSoSOkFe
— david cross✍ (@davidcrosss) January 8, 2021
"if simon & schuster doesn't publish my book, i'm going to send a gang of patriots to storm their offices" https://t.co/5Hj19LIDkM
— John DeVore (@JohnDeVore) January 8, 2021
You went to @YaleLawSch. Surely, you know that a privately-owned publishing company making the morally hygienic decision to drop your book contract in no way represents a “direct assault on the First Amendment.” https://t.co/oSXBqd4WmZ
— James Kirchick (@jkirchick) January 8, 2021
@HawleyMO is more worked up about his book contract getting cancelled than the dead people left in his wake at the Capitol yesterday https://t.co/u3qI50SfMr
— Elise Jordan (@Elise_Jordan) January 8, 2021
Hi Josh - Welcome to our free society. It's a system in which overturning legitimate elections is frowned upon, and in which no one is obligated to publish your nuclear horse shit. On the bright side, it is also a system in which you are welcome to whine a lot? https://t.co/lmkgzqrlYJ
— Ed Helms (@edhelms) January 8, 2021
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