Supreme Court upholds law barring support to terror groups in 6-3 decision

The Supreme Court upheld a law against providing “material support” to
terrorist groups despite constitutional objections.

The court upheld federal laws in a 6-3 decision on Monday, overruling a human rights group’s argument that the statute in question was too vague, and violated First Amendment freedoms.

The groups challenging the law had sought to provide monetary contributions, legal training and advocacy on behalf of two groups, Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK), and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but feared doing so would violate federal laws against providing material support to groups designated by the U.S. secretary of state as foreign terrorist organizations.

The decision allows a broader interpretation by the government of what sorts of actions constitute material support for such groups.

The Associated Press reported  that Justice Stephen Breyer read his dissent from the bench a step that is rarely taken and underlines the justice’s dissent. Breyer, was joined in dissent by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.

The case was Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project.