While there are probably very few people living that remember the nazi invaders from the 1940s, the atrocities are written into the monuments and histories.

Why would they even consider having the neo-nazis such as Orban be treated as special guests at conferences. Might as well resurrect Hitler and ask him to invade again.

And if we don't stop putin from his current land-grabs and ethnic cleansing, he'll be coming west soon.

... by a petty authoritarian.

A platform to legitimate Farage and Orban is one step away from doing so for Putin. Some of the speakers invited represent violent extremes along the lines of what the RW militias advocate here. That falls under hate speech in some of those countries.

If you are advocating that the mayor has no right to protect his town from violent extremists organizing then I think you are missing the point. The people meeting there have no interest in the freedom of speech or other rights for non-whites or those of non-Christian faiths and have said so forcefully. They are not harmlessly disputing an issue. They are advocating the same activity we saw on Jan.6th and elsewhere.

..... the mayor has no right to shut down free speech, violent extremists or not.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo called it "unacceptable". "Banning political meetings is unconstitutional. Full stop."

advancing a point of view. They are a well funded and coordinated propaganda arm of Vlad Putin.

Unfortunately that is the situation here. The GOP in my area are called the Jihad Cowboys by some. A group advocating apartheid by law and force of arms is one of the organized political parties in the upcoming elections.

.... enforced silence.

The police power is the very epitome of organized violence. When you use the police to suppress free speech you are legitimizing and empowering the means and ends of the authoritarians you oppose.

their presence in a way that speech doesn't. It isn't an honest assembly to put forth their views. It is far more than that. It gives Farage, Orban, and by proxy Putin, a stage to preach from as if they are offering a legitimate point of view. They use that setting as a platform for their propaganda, just the way FOX News does.

Would you allow Putin to speak to your neighbors, your children, and others who do not understand how he lies?

I spent 36 years in North Carolina watching the same kind of propaganda allowed as if it was simply speech. When the speakers wore white robes and burnt crosses people could see them for what they were. When they dressed in Armani suits and spoke politely the same lies it was anything but obvious. They have taken over the legislature of NC by use of those lies. They make it impossible to resist their laws. They have stolen the rights of cities, towns and school boards to resist them and protect their citizens. I fought alongside many others in the common politics of our state. Simple speech was not enough to deter them. They bent every rule, and lied upon lies, upon more lies to fool the voters and to scare them as tRump does. They had enormous funding and very good organization based on plans made by the Heritage Foundation and other such RW think tanks. They also stole elections where they could and gerrymandered the state to stay in power.

Putin has a long running plan to foment RW actions and white racist policies through investing in such events and through amplifying them via social media. We have seen how effective that was over the last ten years here. How would you feel of they came to your work place, or town hall, or local school and presented their lies and their hatred?

.... is the very essence of silencing them.

Everything you describe as being problematic in NC is simply politics as usual, and does not warrant suppression of our civil rights to freedom of speech. If you don't like what is being said, speak up for yourself. If you don't like who has been elected, run for office yourself.

and expect that we will play by the ordinary rules, which they do not. The GOP has been coloring very far outside the lines as far as that goes.

Your argument seems to assume a magical balance absent in present politics wherein the mainstream press pays meaningful and coherent attention, and informs with context rather than repeating the hottest, latest gossip headline as if it were fact. I agree that speech, even objectionable speech must be protected. I do not allow that the KKK should be organizing in my neighborhood school.

Hate speech is not protected in Europe for historical and contemporary reasons. My father and millions of others went to war in there to oppose the kind of people and ideas which are represented by that conference. If they have such a valuable point to make let them do so in a community which accepts their POV. They seem to be unwelcome in that town, which was overrun during the unpleasantness of 1939-45.

... the "magical balance" can be achieved though the political suppression of free speech.

Maybe you believe that you will be in control of that political suppression. You won't be. You will be its victim.