Is lying about being a war hero protected speech?

The Supreme Court is less likely to extend leniency to people who claim credit for honors they did not win. The justices have not ruled before that “knowingly false” statements are protected by the 1st Amendment.

And government lawyers point out it was already a crime to lie to a federal agent or to make deliberately false statements on government forms. Moreover, the 1st Amendment does not shield anyone from being sued for telling malicious lies about another person or for getting money by making fraudulent promises.

In defense of the law, U.S. Solicitor Gen. Donald Verrilli Jr. says it “prohibits a narrow category” of false statements that tarnish the special status of military awards. Medals “convey the nation’s gratitude for acts of valor and sacrifice,” he said, and falsely claiming to have won such a medal is not just an inconsequential “white lie.”