Shouting fire in a theater is not a freedom of speech issue. It's a property rights issue. The person doing that is defrauding the theater goers and owners.
Also, this came up in a case where some socialists were against the US entering world war 1. They were spreading some pamphlets in Yiddish and Oliver Wendell Holmes said that since the US doesn't have intentions to enter the war they're yelling fire where there is no fire and sent them to prison. The problem was that the US was planning on entering the war, so they were yelling fire where there was a fire.
Still not a freedom of speech issue. There are many ways you can scare people to cause a stampede without using words. There are already laws in place to protect people from that.
Shouting fire in a theater is not a freedom of speech issue. It's a property rights issue. The person doing that is defrauding the theater goers and owners.
Also, this came up in a case where some socialists were against the US entering world war 1. They were spreading some pamphlets in Yiddish and Oliver Wendell Holmes said that since the US doesn't have intentions to enter the war they're yelling fire where there is no fire and sent them to prison. The problem was that the US was planning on entering the war, so they were yelling fire where there was a fire.
Freedom of speech should be absolute. No limits.
I think the problem with yelling fire in a crowded theater is it can cause a panic, and people to be crushed in a stampede to get to the exits.
Still not a freedom of speech issue. There are many ways you can scare people to cause a stampede without using words. There are already laws in place to protect people from that.
Hypothetically if you did yell fire in a crowded theater when there wasn't one and caused people to die, you would be arrested for their deaths.
I'm not sure if you'd get arrested, but I'm sure someone would sue you.