Is harassment free speech?

It depends on what is harassment.  Apparently the woman below was insulted, not threatened so there was no cause for action.  Nobody seems to be saying what the insults were but they would apparently be of the "dumb n*gger" kind

Kiah Morris was the only black woman in the Vermont legislature - until she quit in September after two years of abuse.

This week, the state's attorney general agreed that the former Democratic representative had been subjected to racial and gender harassment, but he ruled against criminal charges, citing free speech.

The First Amendment of the US Constitution protects free speech, even racist speech. But is it applicable to threats and harassment? And how would a similar case have unfolded in the UK - where there are more applicable hate speech laws?

Attorney General TJ Donovan presented a 10-page report of his investigation at Monday's news conference.

"The online communications that were sent to Ms Morris by Max Misch and others were clearly racist and extremely offensive," it concluded. "However, the First Amendment does not make speech sanctionable merely because its content is objectionable."

SOURCE