NOTE
Shouting “Fire” in a Crowded Chamber:
The Speech or Debate Clause, Incitement, and
the Limitations of Legislative Immunity
MAYA DEVI GANDHI*
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
I. BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
A. SPEECH OR DEBATE CLAUSE OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
B. UNPROTECTED SPEECH AND INCITEMENT OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
II. INAPPLICABILITY OF SPEECH OR DEBATE TO INCITEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
A. THEORETICAL JUSTIFICATIONS FOR INAPPLICABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
B. INCITEMENT AS OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF “LEGISLATIVE ACTS”. . . . . . 207
C. APPLICABILITY OF SPEECH OR DEBATE CLAUSE TO DEFAMATION . . . 208
III. SEPARATION OF POWERS IMPLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
IV. CASE STUDY: JANUARY 6E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
* Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. 2023; Georgetown University School of Foreign Service,
B.S.F.S. 2020; Editor-in-Chief, The Georgetown Law Journal, Volume 111. © 2023, Maya Devi
Gandhi. This Note benefited enormously from the insightful feedback of Kelly Yahner and Lisa Blatt, as
well as the thoughtful editing of the team at The Georgetown Law Journal, especially Conor O’Shea,
Kachun Leung, Aaron Frazee, Mariah Johnson, Samantha Purdy, Tate Rosenblatt, and Alexis Marvel.
Darya Tahan, David Offit, and Radiance Campbell are the reason I survived my year in legal academia,
and I am eternally grateful to them. Most of all, thank you to my parents, Dr. Adithya Gandhi and
Dr. Anjali Gandhi, for teaching me the power of my words. All errors are my own.
191
I’ve seen your frown and it’s like lookin’ down
The barrel of a gun,
And it goes off
And out come all these words
— “Mardy Bum,” Arctic Monkeys
1
We will not let them silence your voices. We’re not going to let it happen.
— Former President Donald Trump, January 6, 2021
2
Donald Trump, Speech on the Ellipse (Jan. 6, 2021) (transcript available at www.npr.org/2021/02/
10/966396848/read-trumps-jan-6-speech-a-key-part-of-impeachment-trial [https://perma.cc/9GRP-
K8W6]).
INTRODUCTION
Former Representative Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) is one for strong rhetoric. A promi-
nent figure in the effort to overturn the 2020 election—with an established pattern
of bolstering lies about its integrity
3
See Michael Kranish, Mo Brooks Urged a Jan. 6 Crowd to ‘Fight.’ Now His Actions Long Before
the Insurrection Face New Scrutiny., WASH. POST (Jan. 10, 2022, 6:00 PM), www.washingtonpost.com/
politics/2022/01/10/mo-brooks-jan6-eric-swalwell-lawsuit-insurrection/.
—Rep. Brooks was among the most incendi-
ary speakers at former President Donald Trump’s rally just hours before the
January 6 insurrection:
Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass.
Now our ancestors sacrificed their blood, their sweat, their tears, their fortunes,
and sometimes their lives to give us, their descendants, an America that is the
greatest nation in world history. So I have a question for you, are you willing
to do the same? My answer is yes. Louder! Are you willing to do what it takes
to fight for America? Louder! Will you fight for America?
4
Mo Brooks, Speech on the Ellipse (Jan. 6, 2021) (transcript available at www.justsecurity.org/
78932/timeline-rep-mo-brooks-january-6-and-the-effort-to-overturn-an-election/ [https://perma.cc/
NBZ4-NQ2A]).
We all know what happened next. Over three harrowing hours, thousands of
rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the congressional certifica-
tion of the 2020 presidential election.
5
See Jacqueline Alemany, Hannah Allam, Devlin Barrett, Emma Brown, Aaron C. Davis, Josh
Dawsey, Peter Hermann, Paul Kane, Ashley Parker, Beth Reinhard, Philip Rucker, Marianna Sotomayor
& Rachel Weiner, Bloodshed, WASH. POST (Oct. 31, 2021), www.washingtonpost.com/politics/
interactive/2021/what-happened-trump-jan-6-insurrection/ (detailing timeline of events during the
attack on the Capitol); Ryan Lucas, Where the Jan. 6 Insurrection Investigation Stands, One Year Later,
NPR (Jan. 6, 2022, 5:00 AM) www.npr.org/2022/01/06/1070736018/jan-6-anniversary-investigation-
cases-defendants-justice [https://perma.cc/LAG9-YY6U] (“[T]he [Justice Department] estimates that
between 2,000 and 2,500 people entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 . . . .”).
Authorities evacuated lawmakers for fear
of their safety, as insurrectionists smashed their way through the Capitol—
proudly waving Confederate flags, looting the office of then-Speaker of the
House Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.), and beating Capitol police officers tasked with
1. ARCTIC MONKEYS, Mardy Bum, on WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THAT’S WHAT I’M NOT
(Domino Recording Co. 2006).
2.
3.
4.
5.
192 THE GEORGETOWN LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 112:191
