New York trial over US Capitol riot tests freedom of expression limits

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NEW YORK — Free speech may be sacred in the United States but calling for the killing of US lawmakers on social media is unlawful, a New York jury ruled Wednesday after a weeklong trial that revisited the January 6 riot at the Capitol.

The federal trial, the first related to the storming of Congress by supporters of ex-president Donald Trump, was viewed as a test case for the limits of freedom of expression protected by the First Amendment of the US constitution.

After just three hours of jury deliberations, Brendan Hunt, a 37-year-old court employee who uses the alias “X-Ray Ultra,” was found guilty of threatening to murder elected officials including Democratic congressional le…

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