US Supreme Court ‘Effectively Abolished’ the Right To Protest in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi?

A police officer was severely injured when a protester threw a projectile during a 2016 Black Lives Matter protest in Baton Rouge. The officer sued the protest’s organizer, DeRay McKesson, for damages.
Mckesson argued that the officer’s lawsuit violated his First Amendment rights, since he didn’t explicitly encourage violence. However, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, with jurisdiction over Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, let the lawsuit proceed.
Mckesson appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to accept the case because its own ruling in 2023 already reaffirmed that under the First Amendment, a lawsuit must show active intent, not just negligent behavior. In refusing to hear the case, the Supreme Court also allowed the lawsuit to proceed.
Headlines and online chatter about the Supreme Court’s decision claimed the idea that organizers in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi can be sued for the actions of protesters “effectively abolishes” protests in those states. This is misleading.
The First Amendment still protects the right to assembly, and any lawsuit brought against a protest organizer would have to clear the hurdle of decisively proving direct intent to cause harm.