Yep, some "bottom runger" is going to pay the price. Pay the price for their own stupidity.

Free speech is a constitutional right, HOWEVER, yelling "fire " in a crowded theater is still illegal.

The "Climate of Paranoia" as you put it, has a basis in the fact that since the mid 1970's there have been many, many terrorist attacks against the US abroad. 9/11 was a wake up call to the US in a war that has been going on for at least 2 decades. It's not paranoia, it's a reaction to reality.