Beachwood residents report swastika on vehicle, but police say it is protected free speech
![Headshot of Jonathan Entin](https://dailymedia.case.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/15124553/entin_jonathan-1024x1024.jpg)
WEWS: Jonathan Entin, the David L. Brennan Professor Emeritus of Law and adjunct professor of political science, commented for a story on whether hate speech is illegal or considered free speech. Although a swastika displayed on a vehicle in Beachwood is considered offensive, hate speech is protected unless direct threats are made to an individual or group, he explained. “Saying those things, as a general matter, is obnoxious,” Entin said. “But it’s also constitutionally protected.”