Chanting “death to the enemies of the nation” in public places in New York could potentially violate several laws:
Incitement to violence: Such chants could be seen as inciting or encouraging violence against certain groups, which is illegal.[1] Explicitly calling for violence or death towards others risks inciting harmful actions.
Hate speech: New York has laws prohibiting hate speech that promotes hatred, violence or discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity or other protected characteristics.[3] Depending on the context, these chants could be considered hate speech targeting specific groups.
Disturbing the peace: Loud, disruptive chants that create public alarm or disturbance can violate laws against disorderly conduct and breaching the peace in New York.[1]
Terroristic threats: Conveying threats of violence with intent to intimidate or coerce others is illegal under New York’s laws against making terroristic threats.[1] Chants explicitly threatening violence could potentially fall under this.
The legality ultimately depends on specific circumstances like intent, targeted groups, risk of violence, and how the chants are interpreted by law enforcement and courts. However, publicly chanting about death to certain groups carries a high risk of violating incitement, hate speech, disturbance of peace, and terroristic threat laws in New York.[1][3]
Citations:
[1] https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/124094NCJRS.pdf
[2] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/01/05/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-third-anniversary-of-the-january-6th-attack-and-defending-the-sacred-cause-of-american-democracy-blue-bell-pa/
[3] https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2023-01/2020-06-oag-nypd-writtentestimony.pdf
[4] https://nypost.com/2023/10/09/palestinian-supporters-and-pro-israel-protesters-trade-violent-threats-in-manhattan-we-gotta-kill-them-all/
[5] https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/111460.pdf
