For Americans, the words are practically sacred: the First Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees freedom of speech.

But that right is now the subject of bitter debate, following the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

On Thursday, several high-ranking Democrats accused President Donald Trump of waging war on free speech, after he celebrated ABC’s suspension of talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who accused the political right of using Kirk’s death to score points.

The American Civil Liberties Union, a rights advocacy group, accused the Trump administration of operating outside constitutional safeguards to target its opponents, likening it to the Red Scare of the late 1940 and 1950s under senator Joseph McCarthy.

“This is beyond McCarthyism. Trump officials are repeatedly abusing their power to stop ideas they don’t like, deciding who can speak, write, and even joke,” said Christopher Anders, director of the ACLU’s democracy and technology division.

So what does the First Amendment say? And why is it up for debate?

‘How we identify ourselves’

Ratified in 1791, the Bill of Rights comprises the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, protecting the fundamental rights of Americans.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,” the First Amendment says.

For David Super, a professor at Georgetown University’s law school, the amendment is “really how we identify ourselves as a nation.”

Beyond the varied ethnicities and background of the nation’s 340 million people, “we are thought to be drawn together by a belief in open discussion and a belief that the government can’t shut any of us up,” Super told AFP.

The First Amendment even protects speech that is “morally repulsive,” explained Eugene Volokh, a professor of law at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Volokh however emphasised that the history of the United States has been marked by attempts to stifle dissident voices.

‘Malicious writings’

In 1798, America’s second president John Adams signed into law the Sedition Act, which forbade “any false, scandalous and malicious writing or writings against the government of the United States.”

Then during World War I, the expression of pacifist ideology was banned.

From the 1920s to the 1950s, anyone expressing support for communist ideals risked serious repercussions. And in the 1960s, officials in several southern US states battled to silence the civil rights movement.

One of the key pillars of Trump’s political movement has been to eviscerate “cancel culture” — the process of criticising someone for voicing an opinion seen as unacceptable, to the point of that person being ostracised or fired.

Trump has often called “cancel culture” a scourge of leftist progressives, claiming that it has been used to silence conservative pundits and politicians.

But Democrats have turned the tables on Trump, accusing him of doing the same to US media organisations, major universities and, now, Kimmel — a frequent target of Trump’s ire.

“After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level,” Democratic former president Barack Obama wrote Thursday on X.

Conservative push-back

US Attorney General Pam Bondi sparked controversy among conservatives by saying earlier this week that the Justice Department would pursue anyone guilty of “hate speech” linked to the slain influencer.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz quickly countered that the Constitution “absolutely protects hate speech.” Bondi then said she meant to refer to “threats of violence that individuals incite against others.”

Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson called for “civil disobedience” should Kirk’s murder result in an uptick in laws limiting free speech.

And some voices on the far right have criticised a decree signed by Trump in August that makes burning the American flag punishable by up to a year in prison.

The US Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that burning the Stars and Stripes indeed amounted to free speech, and was protected by the First Amendment.

“I would never in a million years harm the American flag,” conservative radio host Jesse Kelly wrote on X.

“But a president telling me I can’t has me as close as I’ll ever be to lighting one on fire. I am a free American citizen. And if I ever feel like torching one, I will.”

A helicopter carrying US President Donald Trump was forced to make an emergency landing at Luton Airport on Thursday evening due to what officials described as a “minor hydraulic issue” following the conclusion of his state visit to the United Kingdom.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the aircraft touched down at a “local airfield” as a precautionary measure before later continuing to Stansted, arriving approximately 20 minutes behind schedule.

Both the president and first lady were reported safe aboard the support helicopter.

Emergency services were deployed on the tarmac at Luton following the precautionary landing.

Photographs showed Marine One and Marine Two the two presidential helicopters—parked near the runway.

The helicopters, nicknamed “White Tops” for their distinctive paint, are equipped with missile defense systems, radar jammers, and nuclear-blast-resistant electronics.

For security, Marine One often flies alongside identical decoys and is typically accompanied by MV-22 Ospreys, or “Green Tops,” carrying Secret Service personnel, support staff, and special forces.

President Trump has relied extensively on the helicopter fleet during his second state visit to the UK.

He arrived at Stansted late Tuesday before traveling to Winfield House, the US ambassador’s residence in London, and on Wednesday visited Windsor Castle for an audience with the King and Queen.

The following day, Trump flew to Chequers, where he held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

At a joint news conference, the two leaders discussed a wide range of issues, including Ukraine, Gaza and illegal migration.

Trump suggested Britain could consider deploying the military to address migration – a remark that underscored differences with Starmer.

The US president also voiced his opposition to the UK’s plan to recognise Palestinian statehood ahead of next week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky region in Russia on Friday, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake occurred at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), according to the USGS.

The US National Weather Service’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii issued a tsunami advisory after the quake.