Courts Reward the Heckler’s Veto

In a recent London ruling, a man who burned a Quran was fined for a 'religiously aggravated' offense, with the judge citing the fact that bystanders attacked him as evidence of 'disorderly' conduct. The attacker, who used a knife, was spared jail because he felt 'deeply offended.' This turns violent reactions into legal leverage over speech. — If courts normalize violence‑as‑mitigation and offense‑as‑aggravation, they incentivize intimidation and chill controversial speech in liberal democracies.