An acquaintance pointed out something that I said a few years ago in relation to the right to protest. Of course, since I'm a free speech absolutist, and I've defended a lot of people for saying really dumb things, the right to protest is entirely relevant.
There are easy cases for people who are educated on the issue to handle. No good person likes the idea of Nazis marching in a local park; but, reasonable people with good principles will defend their right to demonstrate. If you go through proper channels, yes, you can block a public street. Those channels don't even have to be created by the state, to my mind. There are a lot of ways, particularly now, to notify people if you're planning on causing a disruption.
So, a few years ago when a bunch of protesters in the UK decided to block a road with no warning and held up traffic for hours, I did say that, if I'm driving my mom to the hospital because she's having a stroke and she's dying right next to me, and you're blocking my path, you've become a speed bump.
I should address why I do think that what I said is more than consistent with everything that I've said about free speech.
One clear reason is that, at no point in my assessment of the situation, do I give a shit about what is being said. You could be protesting something that I agree with. You could just be an asshole thinking that it's fun to block the road. You might think that it's a kind of performance art. You might just be on drugs. Speech isn't the issue here. The issue is consciously creating a dangerous situation.
My example of driving my mom to the hospital wasn't pulled out of my ass. A real man was driving his real-life mom to the hospital while she was having a stroke. What should have been a ten minute drive took more than five hours because of the road blockage. As a result, his mother was paralyzed for the rest of her life and would never be able to speak again. It was a miracle that she didn't die. Those protestors are directly responsible for that harm, not because of their speech or their ideas, but because of their actions.
If you can't see the distinction, I don't know how to help you.