Fact Check: Did Mike Johnson call for repeal of First Amendment from Constitution?

WASHINGTON, DC: The First Amendment is a part of the United States' Constitution's Bill of Rights, protecting fundamental rights such as freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government.

Recently, a rumor circulated online claiming that House Speaker Mike Johnson called to repeal the First Amendment from the Constitution. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.

Claim: Mike Johnson called to repeal 1st Amendment from the Constitution

In October, a rumor went viral claiming House Speaker Mike Johnson called to repeal the First Amendment from the Constitution.

As per the rumor, Johnson allegedly made the call to repeal the amendment, which covers rights including freedom of speech and assembly, during the lead-up to the "No Kings" protests across the US against President Donald Trump.

A Facebook post read, "In a blistering comment on Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson accused participants in Saturday’s No Kings protests of "blatantly exercising their First Amendment rights".

According to the rumor, Johnson said, "When the framers of the Constitution wrote the First Amendment, they did not intend people to take it literally. And yet, that is precisely what the far-left lunatics and Antifa members are conspiring to do." 

The Facebook post further read, "Johnson said that he and his fellow Republicans would push for a repeal of the First Amendment to 'prevent it from being exploited by evildoers in the future'."

The post concluded with an alleged quote of Johnson saying, "We’d be so much better off without the First Amendment. The Second Amendment would move up to No. 1, which is where it belongs."

Fact Check: Post originates from website known for posting satirical content

The claims made in the online rumor are false, as even though Mike Johnson slammed the "No Kings" rally as the "Hate America" rally, there is no evidence he called to repeal the First Amendment.

Moreover, the rumor originated from The Borowitz Report, a website that calls its output as being humorous or satirical in nature. 

Furthermore, Borowitz's bio page on Facebook reads "comedian". The website's About page states that the page's author, Borowitz, has made a career of writing satire, reading in part, "I've been writing satirical news since I was eighteen."

Additionally, searches on search engines, such as Google and Bing, showed no results of any credible media outlet reports on any such news.

Mike Johnson defends calling 'No Kings' rallies 'hate America' events

Mike Johnson defended labeling the October 18 "No Kings" rallies opposing President Trump as "hate America" protests. He said that his comments were aimed at the protesters' tone and slogans, not at Democrats themselves.

During an appearance on ABC News' 'This Week', host Jonathan Karl asked Johnson whether his remarks contradicted his own past appeals for national unity.

Karl said, "Just on this notion that these are ‘hate America’ rallies and you not only talked about anarchists, antifa advocates, pro-Hamas wing- you said this is the modern Democratic Party."

"But I remember not that long ago what you said after the murder of Charlie Kirk, when you said that we should view fellow Americans not as enemies, but as our fellow countrymen," he added.

Johnson replied, "I’ve never called anybody an enemy. There were a lot of hateful messages yesterday. We have videos and photos of pretty violent rhetoric calling out the president, saying ‘fascists must die’ and all the rest... I don't think it's pro-American to say those kinds of things. So it’s not about the people, it’s about the message." 

Furthermore, Karl challenged Johnson on his earlier remarks linking anarchists, antifa, and pro-Hamas factions to what he described as "the modern Democratic Party".

However, Johnson clarified and said, "I never said it was the whole Democratic Party."