So you don’t think what he did constitutes assault? And just to be clear, not asking whether you think it should/shouldn’t be assault, but whether it actually is?

Yeah think I replied to wrong person, sorry about that.

I mean, at some level I know you’re kidding, but do you think it would be okay for somebody to shoot Spenser with an M1 Garand?

How’s that? If the issue was that his speech constituted a direct threat to people, then he didn’t go far enough. Spenser is still talking.

This isn’t a slippery slope argument. If you’re going to argue that what happened constituted “self defense”, I’d like for you to explain to me what the definition of self defense is that makes this action permissible? If you agree with me that it would have been illegal for the protester to murder him, then what are…

So if his words are a true threat, where is the line of violence that is acceptable to use as a response? Would it have been okay if instead of just punching him he properly beat him up and sent him to the hospital? What if he’s stabbed him? What if he pulled out a gun and shot him in the back of the head? Is that…

Okay, so if he’s a Nazi and the guy’s actions were self defense why did he stop at punching him? Surely then it would have been okay if he properly beat him up? What if he stabbed him? What if he pulled a gun out and shot him in the back of the head? Would these also be acceptable forms of self defense? Where do you…

I could have sworn that one of the big lessons of 2016 is that we shouldn’t use Twitter consensus as a foundation for morality.

No, that was assault. Not that I particularly care about Richard Spenser, but what happened to him was wrong and shouldn’t be encouraged, even if he is a literal Nazi.