So It Goes 🙀*

NEWS: Popehat @Popehat, aka attorney Ken White, has been permanently banned from Bluesky, apparently for a post in which he suggested there was a moral upside to Elon Musk’s death.

The Bluesky body politic, meanwhile, is losing its mind over this. Popehat is one of their heroes. pic.twitter.com/iKcUXrGe15

— Benjamin Ryan (@benryanwriter) June 24, 2026

The legal issue here is the Brandenburg test, helpfully summarized by Oyez:

The Court's Per Curiam opinion held that the Ohio law violated Brandenburg's right to free speech. The Court used a two-pronged test to evaluate speech acts: (1) speech can be prohibited if it is "directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action" and (2) it is "likely to incite or produce such action." The criminal syndicalism act made illegal the advocacy and teaching of doctrines while ignoring whether or not that advocacy and teaching would actually incite imminent lawless action. The failure to make this distinction rendered the law overly broad and in violation of the Constitution.

So, is Popehat’s comment “directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action”? That is, is Popehat clearly trying to get someone, anyone, who reads that post, to set out to kill Elon Musk?

If only.

Is it then “likely to incite or produce imminent lawless action”?

Also: if only.

So it clearly doesn’t satisfy the Brandenburg test. But does that matter?

If only.

Brandenburg is a ruling for how the First Amendment works. The First Amendment restricts governments (national, and state, through the 14th Amendment). But it doesn’t apply to social media platforms. They aren’t governments, and get to decide who to invite to their…party. No, in some ways they can’t discriminate; but viewpoint discrimination they can do.

It’s kinda funny because Popehat left Twitter because of Elon, and the toxic environment he promulgated. Now, will he go back?** Or move on to…Threads?

I don’t know Ken White, but he seems constitutionally (no, not the legal way) incapable of not sharing his opinions. And is he gonna drag people to…Threads? Or be content shouting into an empty room?

I have an image of Popehat as Black Bolt in “Multiverse of Madness,” just after the Scarlet Witch took his mouth away, right before his head implodes.

Or Harlan Ellison’s horror story: “I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream.”

I just think he won’t be able to stand the silence. 🤐 

But…who knows? I will miss the pictures of his cats. 

*Except it’s now back up. 🤷‍♂️

**I mean, after all...

Reminder: Matt is the radical, not the people who want Medicare for all, less war, etc. pic.twitter.com/10dimg6G7L

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) June 24, 2026

... Matt Walsh hasn’t been suspended.