Trump Threatened Imprisonment for "Illegal Protests," but What Is an Illegal Protest?

The concept of protesting may mean something different to different people. To some, protesting is more akin to boycotting and using your dollars to make a point. To others, protesting involves marching in the streets with signs and slogans, physically making your presence known.

In some countries, usually dictatorships, the right to protest is not guaranteed. But in the United States, we are granted the right to assembly and free speech, which combine to protect our right to protest.

So what exactly does it mean when President Donald Trump says something is an "illegal protest"? Here's what an illegal protest actually is, and why it's so concerning that the President of the United States is trying to stop protests.

The stir about "illegal protests" came after Trump posted to his social media platform, Truth Social, on March 4, 2025. He wrote, "All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests." He promised imprisonment or that agitators would be "permanently sent back to the country from which they came." American students protesting would be "permanently expelled" or "arrested," depending on the "crime." He then added in all caps, "NO MASKS!"

But what on earth does it mean? A whole lot of nothing.

The ACLU writes that, according to laws in the United States as secured by the Second Amendment, you do not need a permit to protest on sidewalks or in the streets, as long as you aren't impeding the flow of traffic. All protest speech is protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to free speech.

So technically, as long as people follow the guidelines, there are no such things as illegal protests. What does Trump mean, then? We can only hazard a guess.

Given his allusion to deporting "agitators," it seems likely that he's suggesting that many foreigners, and possibly undocumented immigrants, are protestors.

But he then goes on to require colleges to expel students if they engage in these nebulous "illegal protests." Unfortunately for Trump, he doesn't have the authority to make that decision. And following through with arresting law-abiding protestors would not just be a little bit unconstitutional, it would be against the most basic tenets of our protection under the constitution.

Trump may be hoping to force colleges to ban protests on their property, which many colleges have the right to do if they so choose. But it's not up to the President whether or not they ban protests and withholding federal funding in order to suppress free speech would likely be a bridge too far, even for maverick and rule-breaker Trump.

The whole thing might make you curious: Why does he want to crack down on "illegal protests" to begin with, and has he done this before?

It's hard to say, but Trump has a history of being offended and upset over protests and threatening violence to dispel them in the past. During the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, he used dehumanizing language for protestors, calling them "animals" and "thugs," according to IBT.

However, Trump has a clear pattern of trying to suppress dissent and speech that is critical of him while lauding those whose ideals align more closely with his agenda.

Even in a staunchly pro-conservative government such as the one Trump helmed in 2025 when making the boast about suppressing illegal protests, it would be a hard sell to arrest protestors for doing what the Constitution allows.

But the precedent is a disturbing one, echoing authoritarian governments around the world where no one is permitted to speak ill of the country's leader, such as in North Korea or Russia, two countries with dictator leaders whom Trump openly admires.